I think Ive always loved mathematics in my own ways. True, given the kinds of options that were available in our high school in Faridpur (Bangladesh), I enthusiastically opted for what then used to be called the Humanities Group. But I opted for that group--and later majored in literature--not out of my fear or dislike of mathematics as such. In fact, very early on in my life, I used to look at mathematical symbols--or, say, at certain mathematical compositions--as I would look at a painting or even at a poem with a sense of awe and wonder.The symbols arranged in a certain order on a page simply looked beautiful to me. Once in my dream--one that I vividly recall--I saw how an entire Shakespearean sonnet morphed into a mathematical construct right under my eyes! Indeed, way before I began to read the French philosopher Alain Badiou--whose love of mathematics is unmistakable--I had realized--in my own naive way--that mathematics is more than just logical proofs; that mathematics cannot simply be reduced to logic; and that mathematics does not even have to do with accuracy but it surely involves the power of our imagination. As I recall, I even told a mathematics teacher during my Dhaka University undergrad days that theres poetry in mathematics. He laughed out loud, thinking I was crazy or even wondering if I was stoned on pot. But I was surely high on the poetry of mathematics itself.
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 03:36:22 +0000