Occasional Paper

The morning temperature was a sunny 84 degrees Fahrenheit. Perfect day for a bike ride. As I jump on the 1300 cubic centimeter Honda motorcycle the motor springs to life. 24 miles shows on the trip meter. At 41 miles per gallon and a 3 gallon tank, I should have roughly 100 miles left on that tank of 10 percent ethanol gasoline. Plenty enough fuel for a trip to Pilot Mountain and back, a 53 mile trip.

I pull to a stop at the top of the street, perpendicular to the road that will take me to the highway. I take a second to feel the refreshing 3 mile per hour winds. It is going to be a wonderful ride. The smell of the circular shaped bushes fill the air. The giant isosceles triangle shaped pine trees blur in my peripheral. The path of the bike is not altered by the slow pitch of the road that drops approximately 1/2 inches per foot (or approximately 4%). In fact its hardly noticeable even though it does its job to divert water when its raining.

I pass by a local Mc Donald’s where the sign reads 2 for $3 chicken biscuits but decide to continue riding as I’m already many pounds too heavy. Today there will be one less from the billions served. That’s a shame since the Mc Donald’s “chef” probably worked hard to get the perfect ratio of ingredients to create the tasty biscuits.

I pass by the Wachovia building where on a normal business day bankers look at spreadsheets and models trying to determine where to invest large amounts of money. Customer Service Reps field calls from customers where measurements of talk time and speed of answer are measured for performance.

I pass by the ball field where years and years of playing has proven the physics behind a wooden cylinder coming in contact with a spherical object. An action that brings joy to some and disappointment to others. Where a demonstration of torque and foot pounds combine to send earthly balls to the stars. And pounds of air pressure launch tee-shirts into the crowd where liters of beer flow like water.

And as I point my bike down the highway, I smile to myself and think, “This is going to be a great ride.” And I was right. The sun smiled down and warmed me while the cool breeze kept me from getting too hot. Even though it was a very relaxing trip, my mind was whirling with all the instances of math that I encountered along the way.

From the geometric shape of the trees and bushes in nature to the man who designed the roads beside them. From the electronics contained in the street lights and stop lights to the ratios of ingredients in a Mc Donald’s chicken biscuit. Math is truly everywhere. I don’t believe it is possible to find an object, job, or activity that hasn’t been touched by math in some way. Isn’t it refreshing to think, in a world of variability and change, there is one constant in the universe? This thought, the thought of mathematic’s enduring nature, fills me with euphoria every time I encounter it.