I've always liked numbers. In grade school, I was always near or at the top of my class in speed and accuracy in arithmetic. What often drove my classmates crazy was that, even at a very young age, I could work out the figures in my head. Mind you, I didn't always arrive at the answers utilizing the tools and formulas we were taught, but I arrived there quickly nonetheless.
While numbers, in general, and arithmetic, in specific, seemed to come easy to me, the same cannot be said for algebra, calculus and trigonometry! After having been a math star in grades 1 - 6, I proceeded to fail algebra in 9th grade. To this very day, algebra is like trying to understand Chinese via a German-speaking tutor. No matter how hard I studied, it simply made no sense to me whatsoever.
Of all the various math expressions, I've always liked figuring out the mean (i.e., the average). As a child I collected sports cards -- over 15,000 baseball cards. I would spend hours computing all sorts of averages: number of triples, doubles, walks, strikeouts, etc. per year and then comparing these results amongst different players and teams. Since I had few friends, I needed something to occupy my time!!
While I no longer follow sports that rigorously, I still find other areas to compare mathematically. Since I live in an area that receives copious amounts of precipitation each year, one of my new preoccupations is comparing rainfall totals for different areas.
This is a lead up to the fact that it rained bucket loads in South Bend during the month of November. Two towns I've lived in before -- Pendleton and Bend, OR -- average 13.95" and 11.73" respectively of precip per year and most of that comes in the form of snow. Seattle, WA -- known throughout the country as a rainy city -- averages 16.97" in aggregate for the months November, December and January.
For the month of November, South Bend received 20.73" of rain -- that's a daily average of 0.69". That total is nearly 4" more than Seattle receives in the aforementioned quarter and loads more than Pendleton or Bend receive in 12 full months!
Even when compared with other locales I've lived in (Kansas City, MO - 35.51" or Hot Springs, AR - 57.69"), this is still a whopping total.
But the interesting thing is that we've had virtually no flooding. The ecosystem here is used to lots of rain and so the surrounding countryside just seems to soak it up. Had this amount fallen in any of the other areas cited, I'm sure it would be national news of severe flooding, destruction of property and loss of life.
Today is the first day of December and, not surprisingly, it's raining.
While numbers, in general, and arithmetic, in specific, seemed to come easy to me, the same cannot be said for algebra, calculus and trigonometry! After having been a math star in grades 1 - 6, I proceeded to fail algebra in 9th grade. To this very day, algebra is like trying to understand Chinese via a German-speaking tutor. No matter how hard I studied, it simply made no sense to me whatsoever.
Of all the various math expressions, I've always liked figuring out the mean (i.e., the average). As a child I collected sports cards -- over 15,000 baseball cards. I would spend hours computing all sorts of averages: number of triples, doubles, walks, strikeouts, etc. per year and then comparing these results amongst different players and teams. Since I had few friends, I needed something to occupy my time!!
While I no longer follow sports that rigorously, I still find other areas to compare mathematically. Since I live in an area that receives copious amounts of precipitation each year, one of my new preoccupations is comparing rainfall totals for different areas.
This is a lead up to the fact that it rained bucket loads in South Bend during the month of November. Two towns I've lived in before -- Pendleton and Bend, OR -- average 13.95" and 11.73" respectively of precip per year and most of that comes in the form of snow. Seattle, WA -- known throughout the country as a rainy city -- averages 16.97" in aggregate for the months November, December and January.
For the month of November, South Bend received 20.73" of rain -- that's a daily average of 0.69". That total is nearly 4" more than Seattle receives in the aforementioned quarter and loads more than Pendleton or Bend receive in 12 full months!
Even when compared with other locales I've lived in (Kansas City, MO - 35.51" or Hot Springs, AR - 57.69"), this is still a whopping total.
But the interesting thing is that we've had virtually no flooding. The ecosystem here is used to lots of rain and so the surrounding countryside just seems to soak it up. Had this amount fallen in any of the other areas cited, I'm sure it would be national news of severe flooding, destruction of property and loss of life.
Today is the first day of December and, not surprisingly, it's raining.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are unmoderated, so you can write whatever you want.