#49: Thirty-Nine Places

Celebrating the purple circle of math and dessert.

What brings us

together

in the basement hall?

Well, 

I suppose it’s shared misery:  

The panic of calculus, as we watch future lives 

simply vanish

after another paper returns marked - no,

drenched, in red ballpoint pen.

There we sit

every morning, stony and sleepy,

along this narrow basement hall, like cinder blocks.

And every morning, he smiles, steps around the rubble.

He opens his door to our chaos;

tells us about irrational holidays devoted to mathematical constants,

distracting us from

the load

we are bearing.

The morning pattern, our congregation, gives us strength.

Yet, despite this foundation

we still wonder what will become

of us.

Look, we can’t see that far, 

and we’re all tired,

shaky, and uncertain -

about the problems,

about the day, and the time, and, and,

whether it all

means someth-

“Stop.” He reminds us: “You can’t tell

yet - you’re drowning in limits and constants - but trust,

you’re only just getting started.”

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Tuesday was Pi (π) Day (March 14, or 3/14) - a holiday celebrated by mathematicians and pastry aficionados alike. I’m in the latter category, and I channeled the week’s latent anxiety into excess dough and fillings, both sweet and savoury:

Bryn Robinson, PhD @brynphd

The majesty of a bountiful #piDay2023 (L-R: Dark chocolate bourbon pecan; blueberry; apple x 2; tourtière; quiche lorraine)

You really can’t go wrong with classic apple and blueberry, but it’s worth trying the others, too. The dark chocolate bourbon pecan pie is easy to make, and beyond description. The two savoury pies are also simple to construct - speaking as a first-time baker of both. The quiche lorraine is a brunch table classic, and the tourtière is a French-Canadian stalwart.

Maybe you’re surprised that I didn’t “geek” out on a pi-inspired post, diving deep into its constant appearance in equations and natural world properties. On that front, I’d rather point you to far more ably resourced work.

Pi Day Pi Stuff

And then I’d ask you to reconsider.

After all, only a geek would write a poem inspired by π and its first thirty-nine places.

We had our excellent math teacher, Mr. Holder, for all three years of math in high school. Here, he wonders what nonsense his students are up to this time in the hallway outside his office. (Source: Kate Thompson/Facebook, 1999).

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A post-script: I also took a stab at writing a tiny story for Nishant Jain’s excellent newsletter, The SneakyArt Post. Here’s the story, but please check out his beautiful, minimalist image that inspired it (and, perhaps, try your hand at one yourself).

Morning Vibe

Knitted hat pulled tightly over still-damp hair, she pushes her hands deeper into the pockets of her quilted bomber jacket.

Outside, the landscape is an underpainting: roughed-in rectangles of brick and mortar, grey stripes of the avenue beyond the subway line. The intention is there, but the details are still lacking - at least, for a few more weeks.

She lets out the breath she was holding beneath the thin surgical mask.

Saying goodbye was never easy, even when she knew it was coming.

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