Doubly Blessed

Friday 11/1/2013 5:21 AM

Yesterday was the first day of the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC) math conference in Anaheim that I am attending.  I went to a session that dealt with the mathematics of waves and the presenter showed examples of different kinds of waves (gravity waves, internal waves, solitary waves, shock waves, etc.) and then he proceeded to look at the mathematical equations that define them and different solutions to those equations.  I am teaching multivariable calculus for the first time this semester so it was especially interesting to me to see how solving the differential equations of waves used many of the techniques and functions I teach my students in second semester calculus.  Once again I am amazed at the beauty and intricacies of the world that are so evident to our eyes also have beauty and intricacy when viewed from a mathematical point of view.  It seems to me as if God made the universe in such a way that no matter where you look, either on the grand macro scale or the micro scale, you will be astounded at the beauty and the fine detail inherent in the design.

Today I read an excerpt from Man is Not Alone: A Philosophy of Religion, by Abraham Joshua Heschel.  He writes, “Faith will come to him who passionately yearns for ultimate meaning, who is alert to the sublime dignity of being, who is alive to the marvel of matter, to the unbelievable core within the known, evident, concrete. … Faith is only given to him who lives with all his mind and all his soul; who strives for understanding with all beings not only for knowledge about them; whose permanent concern is the cultivation of our uncommon sense, education in sensing the ineffable.  Faith is found in solitude for faith, in a passionate care for the marvel that is everywhere.”  While I am not sure of the strength of my faith, I do know that I have a great sense of the marvel of matter.  I have a deep appreciation for the aesthetic beauty of the world around me but I am also aware of much of the underlying mathematics that can be used to describe it, and that has an inherent beauty of its own.  I believe that God has given me a double blessing and I long to have others experience that same sense of beauty and awe in both the seen and the unseen that is all around us.  Perhaps that is why I love teaching so much.  It is my feeble attempt to share my blessing with others.