In much of my life, I have been fascinated by things with a mathematical mystery or twist to them. The arrangement of the eight tones that make one octave, which soothes the ailing brain, and the measured regularity of spring, summer, autumn, and winter all point to nature’s harmony, which, psychologically, adds safety and joy to our being alive. The fact that the Sun appears on the horizon every day at a predictable time is reassuring to the busy person anticipating a long list of commitments for the approaching day.
A day at Fenway Park on a sizzling August afternoon highlights Newton’s poetic discourse on arcane topics like velocity, acceleration, inertia, the conservation of energy and momentum to the delight of screaming fans along the first and third baselines.
And, how about the Moon? Its monthly traverses across the night sky have inspired many a romantic outburst of affection in the eyes of the beloved. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliette profited from the glean of this celestial body. Also, for anyone with a lively dance in his/her step, the 3/4 time of the waltz and the staccato beat of the tango spell glorious themes of mathematics through the medium of sound waves. How can others not be smitten by the beauty of science and mathematics?
Note to the reader: Please excuse this exuberance and untamed enthusiasm, which I blame directly on decades of exposure to advanced mathematics and physical research completed mostly at national laboratories, both here and in Europe. A true believer can, perhaps, seem a bit over-zealous in the eyes of the typical, uncommitted appraiser of reality.
For architectural proof of Newton’s genius at work, see the following sites: Colosseum, Eiffel Tower, Pantheon, etc.
Please overlook this emotional moment when I ought to remain Euclidean-like in making dispassionate measurements of the world around me. That is essentially the crux of this Greek odyssey, which set the Western world – Eastern and Asiatic contributions, unfortunately, remain for me as yet fairly unknown – afire in large architectural projects, which remain among us as a reminder of their fundamental importance.
Euclid’s Elements and enter the Marist Brothers
Euclid’s Elements form one of the most beautiful and influential works of science in the history of humankind. Any professional geometer would tell you the same. But, why on Earth would a busy barber cutting hair in his shop on West Sixth Street in Centralville, Lowell, Massachusetts in the 1950s give a darn?
Its beauty lies in its logical development of geometry and other branches of mathematics. It has influenced all branches of science but none so much as mathematics and the exact sciences. The Elements themselves have been studied 24 centuries in many languages starting, of course, in the original Greek, then in Arabic, Latin, and many modern languages.
The reason that I mention this fact now is that the good Marist Brothers included these concepts as an integral part of the developmental theme called mathematics in their Lowell high school curriculum. I suspect that their rationale for such an inclusion pivoted on the state of religious education in France after the Napoleonic era, after 1815. It was in that time period that Marcellin Champagnat (see below) fashioned a series of courses that he offered the Catholic boys living in the region of Lyon a chance to better participate in the country’s new secular occupations.
Note that the war ravages of local Catholic institutions in the Vendée region (Pays de la Loire) and in the rest of France had completely revised the career aspirations of everyone in the 1789 to 1830 time frame. Those were “hard times” for most of the peasant folks trying to eke out a living after the days of “La Terreur” and Bonaparte’s years of military grandeur.
Victor Hugo‘s historical novel, “Les Misérables”, is set during this time of turmoil, scarcity, religious intolerance, malnutrition, ignorance, chaos, and fear. Interestingly, it was also during the chaotic years, (1830 – 1835), that the teaching order of the Marist Brothers under the able leadership of Marcellin Champagnat (1789 – 1840) came into being.
Fortunately, for me, though, the story of the “les frères maristes” continued into Quebec Province in ~ 1885 and, later, into Lowell, Massachusetts, the city of my youth. Through their diligent and patient instruction, I was happily introduced to a challenging “classical, high school education” of the early 20th century.
These efforts included studies of languages (English, French, and Latin), mathematics (algebra, geometry, and trigonometry), history/geography regarding American, European, Quebec, and Church issues plus the literature/reading of American, English, Latin, and French texts.
Unfortunately, however, due to the substantial expense of maintaining test equipment for the successful teaching of courses in biology, botany, chemistry, physics, measurements, and engineering, Lowell’s St-Joseph class of boys from 1953 to 1957 received only a marginal introduction to these important topics. A text entitled “General Science”, highlighting key issues around these scientific topics did touch upon photosynthesis, animal and plant recreation, XXX, and XXX, but
sciences were taught at that time xx, and xxx
Finally, the entire scholastic program was enveloped in a fervent, cultural, devout setting that highlighted strongly-held Franco-Canadian beliefs, ideals, and ideas dating back to the regal days of Louis XIV, the Sun King, of ~ 1650.
Yes, our high school class was well acculturated to the educational philosophy/goals that had been first introduced under British rule into the lives of “les canadiens français du Québec ” after Montcalm’s defeat to Wolfe on the “Plains of Abraham” on September 13, 1759.
Take home message – But, what did it all mean to me as a teenager with a widowed mother and three younger siblings at home? And, I might add, without an Indian-head nickel to our name.
This last element of history had a profound influence on my years of growing up as a handicapped character living in one of Lowell’s ghetto communities while anxiously searching for some meaning and a worthwhile career goal.