Algebra by the Bay

Is this sick?

I really did intend to write a first draft of a book proposal this weekend. Gail and I were in Kino Bay, Sonora and I had plenty of time. But something else got in the way and it surprised me.

Rather than needing to sit down and start typing a book proposal, I wanted to study algebra. We are blasting through linear inequalities and getting into polynomials. I found myself preferring to learn about those things instead. I also asked myself, "is this sick, or what?"

Even worse, there were plenty of other great things to do. I had a stack of New Yorker magazines that I hadn't gotten to, several issues of the Neiman Reports, and the New York Review of Books, all waiting to be read. Not to mention a beautiful beach to walk on and a great fishing village and estuary to take pictures of.

But no, I mainly wanted to start getting a feel for polynomials. I think it's weird also.

But, I am actually learning new things every day and that is kind of addicting.

Plus, I've got my great new calculator to play with.

The HP 40gs is (I suppose) a great calculator that I am just getting a feel for. About 90% of what it can do, I haven't even heard of yet. That makes the 400+ page manual a little more manageable. I spend a whole lot of hours trying to learn how to do even the simplest algebra problems on it. I think it could be more intuitive.

I've thought about what's going on. I've considered brain damage. My aunt, Harriet Rochlin, has told me stories about older friends of hers who develop new interests and talents and loose others as their brains age and change. Some have developed musical talent, some art. So I'm thinking, why not math?

I've always been curious about new worlds and feel especially alive when I'm either learning or creating. Right now, for me, math is a new world and I certainly am learning. Not creating, but that might come later.

The first exam

John handed our first exam back to us on Wednesday and I didn't do bad -- 21 out of 24. I knew how to do just about everything on the test but (of course) messed up on arithmetic. I am getting better though. I can tell.

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The Minimal Math Book for Journalists

Tom's Idea

Joe Sharkey is a new friend. He writes a column for the New York Times about business travel. The Times published a column by Joe on October 13, 2008 that included a simple subtraction mistake. He was off by $100.

Here is the offending paragraph:

"For my aborted trip to Aspen, I’d booked on Continental from Newark to Denver. The round-trip advance-purchase fare was $375. Reusing the ticket later will incur a $150 change fee, leaving me with $125 to apply toward another ticket."

At a lunch with Tom Miller, Ted Robbins, and me, Joe said he had received more than 100 email messages complaining or at least commenting about the error. We all thought that was interesting and in some ways encouraging, but didn't give it that much more thought. But afterward, Tom had an idea for me.

Tom suggested that I write to Joe asking whether he would be willing to let me see some of those comments. Some might be eloquent and describe just why it matters that journalists get math or even simple arithmetic right, every single time. Others might be angry. There might be some funny emails . In any event, at least 100 New York Times readers both noticed the error and took the time to write to the author about it.

I have Joe's email address and hope to write to him tomorrow or Tuesday. I'll let you know what he says.

How Ralph found me

You remember Ralph Hanson ? He is chair of the Department of Communication at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Last week he wrote saying good things about CQ Press and inviting me to call him to talk about his experience with them. Of course I was curious about how he found me and knew about my book idea. I imagined (hoped?) that Charisse and he had been talking about my idea and she gave him my contact information, maybe even encouraging him to talk them up a little.

So, on Tuesday or Wednesday I gave Ralph a call. It's funny how even an imaginary book deal can go to your head, or mine.

Mystery solved.

No, Charisse and Ralph did not spend any time discussing my book idea. Charisse didn't give Ralph my contact information. Turns out that Ralph has a google alert set for "CQ Press." When I first mentioned the press here a couple of weeks ago, it launched Ralph's alert and he clicked here and read all about it. Then, he was simply nice enough to send me an email inviting me to talk.

By the way, he has had only good experiences working with CQ Press and went on and on about how inspiring it is to work with Charisse at the press.

And, speaking about Charisse, she sent me a quick and encouraging response to my last note.

Here's what she said:

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Thanks for your email Jay--

good to hear from you and to know how the idea continues to percolate. I appreciate that you only want to commit to a project like this if you think you've got an original take on the subject and can do justice to it, as well as make some money along the way. Happy to keep having the conversation and look forward to seeing what you put down on paper.

I saw the New Yorker blurb you mention below and chuckled. I love it when they have a little space available at the end of a long article and drop in one of these gems.

Best,
Charisse

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OK, I have a quiz in algebra class tomorrow. It doesn't stop. And just to give myself one more thing to consider, I need to decide whether I want to take "College Algebra" next semester. Registration starts this week.