Math’s response to an erstwhile friend.
I got a letter from a young friend who's starting to loathe Math for her puzzling ideas and ways, so I decided to respond on behalf on Math. Knowing how Math thinks, I guess I know what she would want to say. 😃
Dear Old friend,
It’s been a while. I have been wondering what happened all these days.
Firstly, I want to apologise for the hurt caused by humans on fellow humans in my name. I don’t hurt people; people hurt people. Well, we can’t start talking about our fallout but thank you for taking your time to put those sweltering words on paper.
Once upon a time, a young girl was given a choice between two sheets of paper: a N1000 note and a $100. Which one would you advise her to pick? What guided your decision? Did you pay more attention to the number or the sign? Why?
Another friend got a job paying $500 per week while another company is willing to pay $1000 per month for the same job description; which one would you advise your friend to choose?
That’s commercial Math, the first and the last of it.
A new broom sweeps clean but an old broom knows the corners, and the years teach much which the days never know. Wisdom comes with knowledge and experience. That’s the intersection where I built my house. Hence, it’s not my fault that humans keep coming to me for advice and guidance generations after generations.
I guided the Egyptians thousand years ago on how best to build the great pyramids before the coming of excavators and other heavy engineering equipment. Likewise, I counselled the British centuries later on how to make machines more efficient and commissioned the industrial revolution which was an exponential technology leading to rapid advancement in human lives. Decades ago, I guided man to the moon and back. Today, humans are still seeking my assistance on how to complete a journey of days in minutes. I am sure you are also looking forward to teleporting. While many of my mates like Latin and Astronomy have died of old age or simply became recluse, I kept renewing myself and continued giving.
Over the years, I have sacrificed a lot to make people around me better, and invested so much in their future. It’s ironic that most still return to blame me for their woes.
Rather than acknowledge and appreciate my support and guidance, they mistook my strictness for wickedness, and my steadfastness for harshness. Thus fear became hate. Today, friends and enemies have found success in various endeavors most of which wouldn’t have happened without the seed planted by me.
I, Math, am the language of nature. So Math has no problem in this world; she is just solving and helping humanity solve her problem and nurture them. Trust me, Math is not about numbers, equations, computations or algorithms, it is about understanding what life is all about. You may not like the problems I throw at you, but it should give you hope that there is a solution to every problem in life. When many of today’s brides wither and lose their freshness, the eternal beauty of Math will remain and remind humans of her greatness.
Once again, thank you for your ‘kind’ words, and I hope we would sit down to have a coffee someday like old friends.
May your days be bright as the sun. Forever.
Xoxo,
Math
