A fabulous math rant!

This is a wonderful rant about the true nature of mathematics. Rather than listening to me, check it out.

The mathematics of surfing

I doubt many people think of mathematics when they think of surfing. But to me, surfing really speaks of the beauty of math. Regular waves. Periods. Angles between board, rider and wave. Even the shape of the underside of the board, a regular parabola, affects how you ride. It's all completely descriptive of mathematics.

If more students were exposed to those ideas while learning about sinusoidal wave graphs, would they be more engaged in the lesson?

For me, the experience I have while solving a mathematical problem is similar to that which I get while struggling to catch a wave. There's anticipation, panic, frustration and triumph when I finally get it. It's not easy, nor is it completely intuitive for me, but it is exiting, fascinating and keeps me coming back for more.

Here's a photo that I took after a beautiful morning surf in Tofino this past July.

I edited this image in Piknic. I changed the contrast and sharpness, the temperature, added text and cropped the image.

I found this tool very intuitive and easy to use. I felt that this photo editor would allow me to do all that I would ever want to do with my photos in terms of editing.

This photo I edited in Sumopaint. I added text, layer effects, and changed the contrast. This editor was much less intuitive for me. However, I think this would be a useful tool if I was using a photograph as an image, rather than as a photograph. Being able to insert shapes might help illustrate the geometric nature of the world.