A Stairway To Mathematics
A week or so away from the release of my book, Pi of Life: The Hidden Happiness of Mathematics, there have been the natural feelings of “Oh my gosh! What have I left out?” Even though the ending of my book is very clear in addressing this — that too much will be left out…always — there have still been pangs of somewhat anxious reflection regarding possibly missed mathematical vignettes. The inspiration — can I really call it that, inspiration? — for this mild panic came after watching a breathtaking BBC piece in which Jimmy Page, former guitarist of Led Zeppelin, unpacks the legendary song, Stairway to Heaven, and guides the audience through its creation — leisurely and with intermittent pauses for mutual listening purposes.
A talented artist talking casually, yet purposefully, about arguably their greatest creation. It’s art at its most highest and most intimate form — to give one more layer of connection to an already strong, emotional bond. The visuals, also intentional, are not lost here. Vinyl is used, and not just for the richer, warmer analog sound, but also for the micro-human moment of placing the stylus at the proper point on the record. While the song does eventually end in bombast, the song is listened to in an area that mimics a quiet study area of an English manor.
The critical element in this all working is slowness, and complete lack of urgency in the storytelling of this masterpiece. Jimmy Page, looking like a dignified and humbled artist, in the winter of his life, has a cadence to his voice that rejects time altogether — and passionately embraces the tiniest details of the songwriting craft.
And, that is the nugget of gold here that affirms something that I wanted to convey in the Introduction of the book regarding how we discuss mathematics — indifferent to time but fully cognizant of its scope.
I want to tell you about the life of mathematics and hopefully cast a spell of new emotions and ideas. Math’s splendor is vast. You will never know how vast. Neither will I. Perhaps it’s a bit melancholic (or perhaps it’s the wine talking), but I believe the beauty of life lies in the surplus of questions and deficit of time.
Stairway to Heaven is a masterpiece of art. It doesn’t need to live in isolated margins of rock and roll. And luckily, especially after this BBC presentation, there is even better appreciation of how such a complicated piece of music came together.
Mathematics is littered with masterpieces of art. There is no need for quotes around this phrase any longer. Mathematics is being seen by more and more people everyday as an art form of creative expression of the highest order. The sad irony is, however, that what stands in the way of the general public fully appreciating and understanding the “Reason Poems”(Paul Lockhart) and the deft logic — akin to rich orchestral arrangements — is mathematics’ own algebraic-coded brilliance! To appreciate music, you just need your ears. To appreciate paintings/photos, you just need your eyes. To appreciate culinary delight, you just need your taste buds.
Mathematics has no built-in portal to quickly access its beauty and magnificence. In fact, it’s a dodgy and lengthy trespass through algebra. Yet, if we heed the recent wisdom of Francis Su’s outgoing speech as MAA President earlier this year — that mathematics is for human flourishing — then we in the math community need to rethink our efforts in getting as many of our students to the point where they can see and feel the power of mathematical beauty. Regrettably, there are efforts to minimize the algebra that students need to graduate. Algebra isn’t the problem. It’s the way it is taught. Little historical context and boring problems. Anyways, that conversation is for another day…
So what is mathematics’ equivalent of Stairway to Heaven? An idea/concept so highly lauded that it is worthy of being broken in the most effusive, open and relaxed manner. This would naturally be Euler’s Identity, that magically married 5 key constants in a relationship that looks too elegant to be true…
While there are many great articles on Euler’s Identity, the one written in Science4All makes an admirable attempt at not only giving a little background on the origin of all the constants, it takes a courageous swing at the mathematics required — complex numbers, derivatives, vectors, etc. — to explain how this beautiful concept was created. The key word is attempt. It’s a key word that I use several times in my book. It’s inspiration came the movie that I reference it from — Before Sunrise.
The answer must be in the attempt. Always. It defines us as humans, reaching out to share something. In a time where things are rushed, over-processed and screaming for convenience, it is a breath of fresh air when there are artists still around who respect their craft and their audience to try and evoke the most romantic elements of creativity and connection. The Stairway to Mathematics lies in not only embracing mathematics as an art form for a flourishing life, but to give it ample time and space to ensure that as many people will see the intrinsic beauty that is mathematics. This is where we must bravely go.
It might be impossible to succeed. But who cares really. The answer must be in the attempt.
