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        • The Effect of Prozac on the Brain
        • Philae Lander's Discovery of Organic Molecules
        • Advantages and Disadvantages of Wind Turbines
        • Your Own Worst Enemy: An Overview of Lupus
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        • Replacing CFCs
        • The Switch
      • Mathematic and Scientific Explorations >
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        • Determining how Ballparks Affect Batter's Ability to Create Hits
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        • Kinetics Lab
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        • Math as a Vessel for Social Change
        • Sustainability of Bottled Vs. Tap Water
        • Thoughts on the Lottery
        • Understanding Player Efficiency Rating
      • Scientific Research >
        • Communicating With Computers
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        • The Nanoscopic War Against Cancer
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        • Solving the energy crisis with Intermediate Band Solar Cells
        • A Pain That Never Ends
        • Rapamycin Resistance
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        • Morphological Properties of Texting Acronym Formation
        • cGAS and STING Expression
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      • Cover Photo
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        • Creating Energy in the Modern World
        • Dietary Intervention Impact on Gut Microbial Gene Richness
        • Earthly Applications for NASA Technology
        • Explaining Relative Motion
        • Exploring Artificial Inteligence
        • Gamma Function
        • How Leaves Work
        • Hydrogen Fuel Cells
        • Music and Brain Development
        • Programming Calculators
        • The Science of Microsatellites
        • Sci-Fi Taser
        • Sloane's Gap
        • Sustainable Energy: Why Some Ideas Shine Brighter than Others
        • Understanding The Galvanic Cell
        • The Virus: Our Unforeseen Philosopher's Stone
        • What Are Fuel Cells and How Do They Work?
      • Mathematic and Scientific Explorations >
        • Astrocytes Expressing ALS-Linked Mutated SOD1 Release Factors Selectively Toxic to Motor Neurons
        • Big Bang
        • Dictyostelium Discoideum
        • The Future of Solar Cell Technology
        • And Many More...
      • Reactions and Responses >
        • Alternative Energy Sources, New but Unused
        • An Insight Into the Curious World of Ethnobotany
        • Challenging What We Think We Know
        • The Current State of American Education
        • Discovering New Numbers
        • Interview With an Architect
        • Life of Pi Response
        • Mathematical Art Video Commentary
        • Missing from Science Class
        • The Museum of Math
        • The Inside Scoop on a Real Mathematician
    • 2013 Publication

MATH POETRY ​

Editor’s note: In this math exploration, Rhea L. (‘18) uses poetry to describe math concepts.
Sine, a lonely guy
My name is Sine
Not Stan
Or Sean, but really
Sine.

I come from the land of angles
​Some people also call it trianglesville
I don’t have much preference about it,
You see.

Yeah, that’s the thing with me.

People think I am strong and mighty
My initials pop up first in
SOHCAHTOA
That’s an honor, they say
No.

I think I need to distance myself from my brother and sister
Cosine and tangent are great, truly
And I really do love them, dearly
But it’s time I get a one-way ticket to independence alley
And never come back.

Here’s the thing:
They only let you enter the alley if you’re a number
Roaming free with no one yanking you back
But I cannot roam the countryside
I am depended on by too many sides and angles
And long, long numbers…
I am a ratio and I am not proud of it.  

Oh, how I long for the freedom of my dear Hypotenuse
She’s just a side, a number, a distance!
And oh my, she can even be 1,
Her persona with her friend Unit Circle
What a beauty dear Hypotenuse is.

We do hang out a lot, if you must know
Hypotenuse and me
But it tends to be in a group of three,
Never alone.
Stupid Opposite is always tagging along
If only I could shake him off, then lovely Hypotenuse and I would finally be,
Alone.  

Explanation of “Sine, a lonely guy”
This poem does not follow any real poetic structure, so the lack of rhyming, the punctuation, the stanza length, the number of stanzas, and the capitalization was all my choice. When I imagine “sine,” I honestly imagine him as a sad little guy moping around; I am not quite sure why. So I wanted to make this poem reflect his lack of confidence in being a ratio and his jealousy of more simple concepts like “hypotenuse.” This poem was a “write whatever came to mind” type of poem because I was not restricted by structure or rhyme scheme. I was somewhat inspired by Harry Baker’s poem about 59 who was in love with 60, and I kind of played off that idea of one mathematical concept admiring another.      



Sonnet =
The sturdy equals sign
The glue of so many equations
Two lines, simply sublime
You could call it an equals sign invasion

You can pick out equals and his four sisters
Plus, minus, multiply, and divide
Sweet little equals is the only mister
This sign family are our guides

But equals only appears when things are exact
When things make sense
This plus this always equals that
With sweet little equals, there's no suspense

Equals is our mathematics master
Without him, our world = disaster

Explanation of Sonnet =
“Sonnet =” is a Shakespearean sonnet, so it follows a very rigid structure. The rhyme scheme and stanzas go like this: ABAB, BCBC, EFEF, GG. I really enjoy writing sonnets even though it is hard to come up with words that rhyme and advance the story or point you want to make. In “Sonnet =,” I highlight the importance of the equals sign in the world of mathematics because honestly, without it I do think there would be disaster.

Ode to the Pythagorean Theorem
Ode to Mr. Pythagoras and his fantastical theorem.
How helpful it has been for thousands of years.
Any math student’s pal and sidekick.
Conquering triangles side by side.

Ode to the shortcuts old Pythagoras provided.
You have a right triangle?
Two side lengths?
The third comes on a silver platter.
We thank you.

Ode to the rowdy, diverse bunch of Pythagorean triples.
3, 4, 5 and 5, 12, 13 -- the list goes on.
When they appear on my page, my smile brightens a thousand watts.
Oh, how much easier this problem has become!
So familiar, so clean…
So special.

Explanation of “Ode to the Pythagorean Theorem”
This poem is an ode, which usually praises someone or something. I am not sure if there is a specific structure for an ode, so I made the choice of stanza lengths, punctuation, rhyme scheme, etc. In this case, I am praising the Pythagorean Theorem for its brilliance and its helpfulness. It comes in handy so often, especially on standardized testing and makes problems so much easier. I just felt the need to give the Pythagorean Theorem a little love in this poem.

Haiku Trig
Trigonometry
Sine, Cosine, Tan, ratios
Don’t mess up the graph

Haiku 0
Zero is special
Never a counting number
But an integer

Haiku Prime
Prime numbers, wonky  
They have only two factors
Just one and themselves

Explanations of the above haikus:
Haikus are very short poems that follow an extremely strict structure: The first line has 5 syllables, the second has 7, and the third has 5. I don’t have much to say about these other than the fact that they are really fun to write. It is hard to make cohesive points in such a compact, rigid poem, so that is why they sound a little choppy, but they make me laugh so I enjoy them!  
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  • Home
  • Who We Are
  • HOW TO SUBMIT
  • Past Publications
    • 2019 Publication >
      • Scientific Research
      • Mathematical Exploration
      • Scientific Exploration
      • Computer Science
    • 2018 Publication >
      • Artistic Creations
      • Historical and Current Explanations
      • Mathematic and Scientific Exploration
      • Scientific Research
    • 2017 Publication >
      • Artistic Creations
      • Historical and Current Explanations
      • Mathematic and Scientific Exploration
      • Reactions and Responses
      • Scientific Research
    • 2016 Publication >
      • Historical and Current Explanations
      • Mathematic and Scientific Explorations
      • Scientific Research
      • Reactions and Responses
      • Artistic Creations
    • 2015 Publication >
      • Historical and Current Explanations >
        • Bell Curves
        • Birds Vs. Turbines
        • Energy in the Obama Era
        • The Future of Neuroscience
        • Gender Gap in Math
        • GMOs--Yes or No?
        • The History of Minecraft: How a Swedish Indie Game Came to Dominate the World
        • The Effect of Prozac on the Brain
        • Philae Lander's Discovery of Organic Molecules
        • Advantages and Disadvantages of Wind Turbines
        • Your Own Worst Enemy: An Overview of Lupus
        • The Methylhex Ban
        • The Effect of Lyme Disease on the Immune system
        • Infectious Mononucleosis
        • Replacing CFCs
        • The Switch
      • Mathematic and Scientific Explorations >
        • The 43rd Figure
        • The Clock
        • The Collatz Conjecture
        • Constructing a Soccer Ball
        • Determining how Ballparks Affect Batter's Ability to Create Hits
        • The Rotating Conundrum
        • Pythagorean Puzzle
        • Mathematic and Scientific Explorations
        • Kinetics Lab
        • Math in the Restaurant Business
        • Math as a Vessel for Social Change
        • Sustainability of Bottled Vs. Tap Water
        • Thoughts on the Lottery
        • Understanding Player Efficiency Rating
      • Scientific Research >
        • Communicating With Computers
        • The Mystery of Asthma
        • The Nanoscopic War Against Cancer
        • Phytochemistry
        • Solving the energy crisis with Intermediate Band Solar Cells
        • A Pain That Never Ends
        • Rapamycin Resistance
        • Ampacity of a Single Core Horizontal Cable
        • Morphological Properties of Texting Acronym Formation
        • cGAS and STING Expression
      • Reactions and Responses >
        • Can Humans Survive the Climate Crisis?
        • My Experience as a Teacher's Assistant
        • Ted Talk Responses
        • Teens For Food Justice
      • Artistic Creations >
        • Chandelier
        • Deltoidal Hexacontrahedon
        • Dodecahedron Card Trick
        • Eye of the Triangle
        • Free Radric Delantic Davis
        • The Grid
        • What Does A Randomly Composed Song Sound Like?
        • Science Wing Mural
    • 2014 Publication >
      • Cover Photo
      • Artistic Creations >
        • Art Using the Fibonacci Sequence
        • Computer Generated Architecture and Designs
        • Mathematical Landscape
        • Math Art
        • Math in Music
      • Historical and Current Explanations >
        • Algae Bio-Fuel
        • An Energy Alternative
        • Clean Energy In Transportation
        • Calorie Restriction
        • Creating Energy in the Modern World
        • Dietary Intervention Impact on Gut Microbial Gene Richness
        • Earthly Applications for NASA Technology
        • Explaining Relative Motion
        • Exploring Artificial Inteligence
        • Gamma Function
        • How Leaves Work
        • Hydrogen Fuel Cells
        • Music and Brain Development
        • Programming Calculators
        • The Science of Microsatellites
        • Sci-Fi Taser
        • Sloane's Gap
        • Sustainable Energy: Why Some Ideas Shine Brighter than Others
        • Understanding The Galvanic Cell
        • The Virus: Our Unforeseen Philosopher's Stone
        • What Are Fuel Cells and How Do They Work?
      • Mathematic and Scientific Explorations >
        • Astrocytes Expressing ALS-Linked Mutated SOD1 Release Factors Selectively Toxic to Motor Neurons
        • Big Bang
        • Dictyostelium Discoideum
        • The Future of Solar Cell Technology
        • And Many More...
      • Reactions and Responses >
        • Alternative Energy Sources, New but Unused
        • An Insight Into the Curious World of Ethnobotany
        • Challenging What We Think We Know
        • The Current State of American Education
        • Discovering New Numbers
        • Interview With an Architect
        • Life of Pi Response
        • Mathematical Art Video Commentary
        • Missing from Science Class
        • The Museum of Math
        • The Inside Scoop on a Real Mathematician
    • 2013 Publication