While it is always wrong to make absolute declarations and sweeping generalizations, it is undeniable that there are three types of people in the world:
1. Those who are good at math, and
B. Those of us who aren’t.
The easy conclusion is that people who are good at math are organized, logical thinkers. This may be true—the old left-brain/right-brain thing. I can never remember which is which. That may mean I am the third of the two types. However, I think there is a reason the people who are not good at math tend to be the more creative types—artists, writers, thespians, short-order cooks.
The very simple and obvious explanation is that we had to think up reasons we did not have our math assignments ready to turn in. This forced us to turn on our creative juices to move beyond the old trope of “the dog ate it” to the more entertaining (if no more credible) mitigation of epic singularities such as alien abductions, evil twins, foul play, espionage, talking rabbits who are late for parties, and inter-dimensional portals opened by the magnificent correctness of a formula you calculated (which sadly resulted in its theft by miscreants from another galaxy).
Of course, this goes far back in history to the time of the cave people. When Og was getting chewed out by Ooola because he promised to bring home half a deer and showed up with only a third, he would explain that he took half, Blog took half and Trog took the third half. This often produced suboptimal results, and more than anything else, is the reason Og took up painting on the cave walls. Creativity.
So, in a manner of speaking, creativity is forced upon us by circumstances. Those who cannot adapt simply have no choice but to be good at math. But if not being good at math is merely the signal event which reveals a natural proclivity toward creativity, what are the underlying origins?
There are five pillars of creativity: laziness, procrastination, forgetfulness, and… I can’t remember the last one. At any rate, over the coming weeks, we will explore the unique and fascinating implications and historical ramifications of each of these six pillars of creativity. That is, if I feel like it, don’t forget, and can manage to get around to it. If I don’t, I’m sure I’ll have an interesting story to tell about it.
* * * * *
Stephen Hise is an author and the Founder and Evil Mastermind of Indies Unlimited. For more information, please see the IU Bio page and his website: http://stephenhise.com/
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My laugh for the day.
For the WHOLE day?
Yeah, sucks, doesn't it. 🙁
I might have tried harder if I'd known it was all up to me. Lordy. No pressure, or anything. 😛
Steve: You are definitely the third of the two types. You had me counting on my fingers between laughs as I read this. I think I must fall in the same category. Great post, man; keep it up.
Thanks Charles. Well, I'm off to balance my checkbook now. I like to use stick figures when I balance my checkbook. Anybody else?
My laugh for the day! Thank you so much.
Glad you enjoyed it Jill. 🙂
Thank goodness it's not just me who is mathematically challenged. Hubby keeps telling me I'm an idiot but I point out regularly that I am the one who can speak seven languages (not all at the same time) which usually shuts him up. Still, being bad at maths does mean that when he asks me how much I have spent on a dress I halve the amount which invariably means it costs less than five pounds…(never was any good at fractions).
Great post Stephen – still grinning.
Thanks Carol. I was working on a big banquet for all of us who are bad at math, but I'm having trouble with the head-count for the dinner plates. Why did I offer a choice of three entrees: Chicken or beef?
Hah! I love it! Who needs math anyway? It's not like quadratic equations are useful of anything….are they? I was terrible at math.
Quadratic equations? And I thought math on dry land was bad.
Thanks! I needed a laugh today…'cause the "cosmic vortex" story didn't fly.
Yeah, there is never a cosmic vortex around when you need one.
It is this kind of post that makes me sit back and think long and hard about why people think *I'm* the crazy one…
Rich, there are many reasons people might think that about you, but the list is so long that decorum prohibits my detailing it here. 😉
My laugh for the day, too. Thanks for that Stephen!
🙂
Thanks Chris. 🙂
Well, I know what I'm getting you for your birthday: an evil abacus!
I didn't even know they made a non-evil abacus.
Yes, I believe Fisher-Price makes an non-evil abacus. Such a waste.
Yay, the return of Og!
Okay, if you're left-handed and creative, does that mean your brain is switched around and it's the opposite of right-handed people? And what happens if you look in a mirror (other than in my case, it breaks)?
Also I'm worried; are you saying those teachers didn't *believe* our talking rabbit stories?
You had me chuckling. Can't wait to read the write-ups on the pillars.
Upon Receiving Unfriendly
Communiqués from
Office of Tax and Revenue
If poets could reconcile
everything, we would
become accountants.
We write due to lack
of reconciliation,
write in the rift.
Not poetic license, but
poetic distraction.
God shakes our pens.
Elisavietta Ritchie
discovered draft, circa mid-1980s
Rewritten April 24, 2011 26 July 2011
Funny! Yes, I am that 3rd kind of person. Although I don't procrastinate too badly, I SUCK in math!! Hubby has nicknamed me the Blonde Vulcan–it fits.
I love math. This is not a popular thing to say out loud, I know. But I'll even share a cheer: E to the u, du dx, E to the x dx, secant, tangent, cosine, sine, 3.14159, integral, radical, mu dv, slipstick, slide rule, M I T!
lol – smartass!
=)