DISCLAIMER: Do not expect much from this blogpost. It's a Monday night-I feel like writing something but I'm not sure what-stream of consciousness type blogpost. If you want to stick with me, that's lovely, but if you want to beg off now, I understand.
I fear math.
Actually, that's not true. I don't really fear math. I'm not scared of it. I will attempt any calculation put in front of me. I suppose it would be more accurate to say math should fear me.
Math is one of those things that I'm not awful at, but I'm pretty sure it's one of those situations where I don't know what I don't know, which leaves me knowing just enough to be dangerous.
I use math a lot in my life --probably incorrectly, but I should be given an A (i.e., a score between 91-100%) for effort:
I do consumer-type math (e.g., time, money, measurement) at home.
I use statistics at work --I can explain a Bell Curve like nobody's business!
And I tend to think about coping with life things and writing, drawing, etc. --life and art often overlap --in terms of percentages and fractions. It's this last use of math that has me jotting down what is promising to be a truly pointless blogpost on absolutely not much tonight.
When making to-do lists at any given time, I realize that I will get through about half of the activities on the list within the time allotted, or it will take me twice as long as I think it should to get everything done. This is what is occurring with my current writing project, again, so the finding must still be true. I often wonder how other people who are better at planning and maintaining attention do with their to-do lists. I'm thinking their math must be different, as they all seem to be so prolific. In my case, I live the mathematical equivalent of 'her eyes are bigger than her stomach', and I get through it all eventually.
There are also the Golden Section and the Rule of Thirds. I was originally going to write they were the same thing, but the Interweb informs me they are not.
The Golden Section occurs at 0.62 (out of 1.0) and is largely used to talk about the perfect spot in visual art, like paintings or drawing, and it occurs in music, as well. I'm not a musician, so I cannot explain what this means. I hear Bach used it very well, though, and his work is pretty magnificent for having a simultaneously calming and invigorating effect on me, so that information and $2 will get you a cup of coffee.
The Rule of Thirds says to think in thirds, so the optimal spot would occur at 0.67 --slightly off from where the Golden Section occurs. I am currently writing a three-act play, so I'm more interested in the Rule of Thirds than the Golden Section at the moment. Incidentally, the Rule of Thirds is different than the Rule of Three --again, I have been schooled by the World Wide Net. Both are used in writing, and I am happy to announce, I use both. Hooray.
Do you ever think about how you use math in your creative efforts? And what other areas of study seemingly unrelated to the arts do you use when you are being creative?
Also, if you understand math better than I do and I have gotten some of the math wrong, please correct me! I don't want math to be afraid of me --it's very useful.
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