Mathematical Poetry

Über Geometrie von J. W. Goethe:

Doch erst zur Tat erregt den tiefsten Sinn
Geometrie, die Allbeherrscherin:
Sie schaut das All durch ein Gesetz belebt,
Sie mißt den Raum und was im Raume schwebt;
Sie regelt streng die Kreise der Natur,
Hiernach die Pulse deiner Taschenuhr;
Sie öffnet geistig grenzenlosen Kreis
Der Menschenhände kümmerlichstem Fleiß,
Uns gab sie erst den Hebel in die Hand,
Dann ward es Rad und Schraube dem Verstand;
Nun aber g'nügt ein Hauch der steten Regung,
Aus Füll und Leere bildet sie Bewegung,
Bis mannigfaltigst endlich unbezirkt
Nun Kraft zu Kräften überschwenglich wirkt.

(aus: "Die ersten Zeugnisse der Stotternheimer Saline.
Überreicht zum 30. Januar 1828")

"Herbstag", wie Rilke ihn wirklich gemeint hat:

Herr, es ist Zeit, der Urlaub war sehr kurz,
leg Deinen Schatten auf die Sonnenuhren
und in der Uni lass' die Studis los.

Verbiet den letztgenannten, faul zu sein,
gib' ihnen noch zwei schwierigere Fragen
dränge sie zur Vollendung hin und jage
die letzte Muße aus dem schweren Sein.

Wer jetzt nichts tut, verbaut sich nur noch mehr
wer jetzt verwirrt ist, wird es lange bleiben
wird wachen, rechnen, unter Mathe leiden
und wird in den Gedanken, hin und her,
unruhig wandern, wenn die (Hausaufgaben-)blätter treiben.

von Katrin Prechtel, damals Mathematik-Studentin an der TU München; 
Geschenk zu einer Analysis-Vorlesung. Das gerahmte Original
hängt in meinem Büro.

"Reformgedicht"

"Argument" by Bill Parry, 1934-2006

As he cleaned the board, 
chalk-dust rose like parched mist.
A dry profession, he mused as morosely
they shuffled settling tier upon tier.

Now, almost half-way through the course,
(coughs, yawns and automatic writing)
the theorem is ready.

Moving to the crucial point,
the sly unconventional twist,
a quiver springs his voice and breast;

soon the gambit will appear
opposed to what's expected.
The ploy will snip one strand
the entire skein sloughing to the ground.

His head turns sympathetically
from board to class.
They copy copiously.
But two, perhaps three pause and frown,

wonder will this go through
questioning this entanglement
--yet they nod encouragement.
Then the final crux; the ropes relax and fall.

His reward: two smile, perhaps three
and one is visibly moved.
Q.E.D., the theorem is proved.

This was his sole intent.
Leaving the symbols on the board
he departs with a swagger of achievement.

A poem from "Under Which Lyre" by W.H. Auden (1946)

Thou shalt not do as the dean pleases,
Thou shalt not write thy doctor's thesis
     On education,
Thou shalt not worship projects nor
Shalt thou or thine bow down before 
     Administration.
        
Thou shalt not answer questionnaires
Or quizzes upon World-Affairs,
     Nor with compliance
Take any test. Thou shalt not sit
With statisticians nor commit
     A social science
        
Thou shalt not be on friendly terms
With guys in advertising firms,
     Nor speak with such
As read the Bible for its prose,
Nor, above all, make love to those
     Who wash too much.
        
Thou shalt not live within thy means
Nor on plain water and raw greens.
     If thou must choose
Between the chances, choose the odd;
Read The New Yorker, trust in God;
     And take short views.

"Weapons of Math Instruction" by Brian Leiter (2003)

At New York's Kennedy airport today, an individual later
discovered to be a public school teacher was arrested trying
to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a
protractor, a setsquare, a slide rule, and a calculator.

At a morning press conference, Attorney general John Ashcroft
said he believes the man is a member of the notorious
al-gebra movement. He is being charged by the FBI with
carrying weapons of math instruction.

"Al-gebra is a fearsome cult,", Ashcroft said. "They desire
average solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off
on tangents in a search of absolute value. They use secret
code names like "x" and "y" and refer to themselves as
"unknowns", but we have determined they belong to a common
denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every
country.

"As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, there are 3
sides to every triangle," Ashcroft declared.

When asked to comment on the arrest, President Bush said, "If
God had wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction,
He would have given us more fingers and toes.

"I am gratified that our government has given us a sine that
it is intent on protracting us from these math-dogs who are
willing to disintegrate us with calculus disregard. Murky
statisticians love to inflict plane on every sphere of
influence," the President said, adding: "Under the
circumferences, we must differentiate their root, make our
point, and draw the line."

President Bush warned, "These weapons of math instruction
have the potential to decimal everything in their math on a
scalene never before seen unless we become exponents of a
Higher Power and begin to factor-in random facts of vertex."

Attorney General Ashcroft said, "As our Great Leader would
say, read my ellipse. Here is one principle he is uncertainty
of: though they continue to multiply, their days are numbered
as the hypotenuse tightens around their necks."

"Stewart and Tall" by Caroline Series

Stewart and Tall wrote a book called `Foundations'
For students to use in abstruse calculations,
And whether they loved it or whether they dropped it,
They all had to buy it, which brought in the profit.
    Sing epsilon delta, Stewart and Tall,
    Such combining of intellect few can recall.

O yes, you thought you knew all abount counting,
But you didn't you know, till you understood mapping.
There are types of infinity large beyond number,
But no-one can count them, how's that for a wonder?
    Sing epsilon delta, Stewart and Tall
    I betcha you'll buy it, the price is quite small.

They said the real numbers were not what you thought
But the rules of al-ge-bra worked just as they ought.
And noone could count till a man named Peano,
But quite how he did it, why, noone could tell you.
    Sing epsilon delta, Stewart and Tall,
    You can take it or leave it, it's better than Hall.

They spoke of the ease of a proof by induction,
And then they reduced the whole thing ad absurdum.
If still you were with them, they started on logic,
But really the proofs were nothing but magic.
    O epsilon zeta, Stewart and Tall,
    Their tricks will delight you, their puzzles enthrall.

You thought you were suffering with your relations?
Just wait till they grasp at your mind with injections.
At the end they wax lyrical, talking of rings
And fields (but not sheaves or more delicate things).
    O epsilon delta, sing David and Ian,
    When stuck with a problem, try putting the tea on.

As I sing you this sage, I say there're no questions
Whose answers aren't buried within the Foundations.
Can you find a number sufficiently small?
There's noone can beat them, old Stewart and Tall.
   Sing alpha and omega, Stewart and Tall,
   Witha cheer for Foundations: hip hooray one and all!