As far as I know (a short distance) schools in england never use the term "calculus" -- at least that is my excuse for not knowing what it meant until just this moment when I looked on wikipedia. Perhaps it is an american way of saying "mathematics", I used to think (but at the same time knowing they said "math", but there is nothing wrong with synonyms, I always also thought). And in things like My So-Called Life they may mention "calculus" and seem to be doing maths.
But no, calculus is
「 Calculus (Latin, calculus, a small stone used for counting) is a branch in mathematics focused on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series 」
That all sounds interesting but none of it appeared in double maths at my miserable school.
Now and then I enjoyed "quadratic equations" -- it must have been on a very basic level, the wikipedia entry seems radically unfamiliar to me. I don't think I was taught maths; maybe just the necessary sum skills for adding up your money for things you want/must buy to store up economies. Nowadays I have zero monies so don't require maths, except for rice cooking which entails a count of 15 minutes. GCSE reflexes come into play then, there is a sort of plasma as in 90s era video games, around my counting self.
It is fun to add 15 minutes. You do ten first, then the five. The hardest thing is remembering, among all the kitchen acts, what sum you came up with. And 15 minutes is one quarter of an hour. An hour could serve four people if it (the hour) was a pizza that wasn't too big or too small (the perfect pizza).
「 Calculus is a ubiquitous topic in most modern high schools and universities around the world 」
I feel stupid, of course, but also confused. And suspicious.
When I used to time rice I always got mediocre rice; now I cook the rice subjectively, maybe it's ten minutes or maybe it's thirty minutes, suddenly I just know it's done, and it is much better rice. I started this by carefully listening to and smelling the closed rice pot (it has certain subtle smells and sounds when it is done) but now that is no longer necessary. Problem: I cannot cook rice when anyone else is in the room. The other person dulls my senses and I have to just time the rice.
ReplyDeletethe applications section on wikipedia might help explain calculus a bit, plus there's a nice picture of a shell
ReplyDeleteI may try subjective cooking of rice, but am probably not brave enough. Does it work with other foods?
ReplyDeleteRecently I have been constructing hummus. This entails only blending, there is no need for time.
I would prefer an explanation for why I did not know about calculus until last week. Is it the fault of english schools?
ReplyDeleteThen maybe I can engage with a bit of calculus itself, without feeling uneasy.
But thankyou all the same.
'In calculus, whose methods form the theoretical basis of physics and geometry, the infinitesimal method allows us (for example) to compute the area under a curve: its area is equal to the sum of an infinite number of rectangles with infinitely small widths—that is, rectangles with bases of lengths approaching zero.'
ReplyDeleteMy current (yesterday & today) reading: Science, Finitude, and Infinity: Neo-Kantianism and the Birth of Existentialism, by Peter Eli Gordon. From Jewish Social Studies, Fall 99, Vol.6, Issue 1, pp.30-53.
I only saw your post yesterday, and found it interesting that I was reading around the area.
current way to cook rice, using special pot thing we purchased:
ReplyDeleteone cup of rice washed first, then one cup of water, with a little drizzle of extra water.
flame is moderately high (the curve of flame matches curve of this particular pot, I think that is how it works)
one cup of rice on moderately high flame for 11 to 12 minutes.
the lid begins to bubble perhaps 5 to 4 minutes before the due date
an option is to increase highly the flame on high right at last moment for up to 30 seconds though usually 10 is enough/
flame off, and let it remain, the rice, unopened, for 20 to 30 minutes.
fluff up.
serving utensil can be kept in a little cold water, this means rice does not stick to it, during the serving.
there you go.