As a geometry teacher, I like to keep a Rubik’s Cube in my room. The students usually seem to think it’s a way for me to show off (my average time is about two minutes… not championship level, but fast enough to be impressive). But I’ve come to see the cube as a metaphor for…
Month: September 2016
Fuseli’s Favorite Fantasm
my friend is back sitting on my shoulder whispering in my ear telling me how pointless it all is how i’m talking to an empty room singing with a vacant orchestra shouting across the chasm at nobody when i turn to tell him to shut his mouth he disappears and i am at last…
Another Unarmed Black Man Murdered by Police…and This One Also Won’t be the Last
Here we go again. Every time I see the latest example of police brutality resulting in the death of an unarmed, usually black citizen, I try to be hopeful that this is the one that will cause the sleepers to wake up. Yet again, I’m disappointed. Terence Crutcher, 40, unarmed, black, and male, was shot…
The Vicious Cycle of Unequal Treatment
Critics of Black Lives Matter often argue that black Americans are more likely to commit crimes than white Americans, and that this explains why police are more likely to enter into an interaction with black suspects at a higher level of suspicion and aggression. Statistically, it’s true that African-Americans are disproportionately represented at all stages…
Inscribing an Equilateral Triangle
I was reminded of the cylindrical wedge that casts shadows of a triangle, a square, and a circle, and it got me wondering: What if I wanted to create such a shape with an equilateral triangle as one of its shadows? The wedge shown either casts an isosceles (but not equilateral) triangular shadow, or it…
The Evolution of Fear in Boys and Men
Lately, I’ve been thinking about the nature of fear. My son, age seven, has developed a consistent fear of marionettes and animatronics. The two monsters at the top of this anxiety are Mr. Slappy from the Goosebumps series and Foxy the Pirate from Five Nights at Freddy’s. The clarity of this fear reminds me of…
Shut Up and Dance
On August 26, 2016, a black man who is paid a lot of money to entertain people failed to stand for the National Anthem. In 2016 America, this is apparently news. This is the key part of the news. In the wake of this scandalous conduct, people have tried to make it about the man’s…