When someone asks what I do and say I am a grad student in math, there are a finite number of possible responses:
1. "You must be really smart." Stated with widened eyes.
2. "Can you tutor my kid?"
3. "I did really well in College Algebra if you ever need help." Alright, so I only got this one once. But I've heard of other people hearing similar things.
4. "Do you watch that show Numb3rs?"
5. "I hate math." This is usually followed by a description of their really crummy 5th grade math teacher.
I keep 5 index cards in my back pocket so I can pull out the appropriate response:
1. No.
2. No.
3. No.
4. No.
5. It hates you back.
But for those of you who have always wanted to know if anything on Numb3rs is real or if you should be waiting for the nerdy guy with curly hair to turn to the screen one of these days and say "Psych! I just made that up!", there is help. Some math prof has a blog dedicated to looking at the math on Numb3rs: http://www.atsweb.neu.edu/math/cp/blog/. Hope someone enjoys it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
I think you're really smart.
You forgot about the speechless reaction with the completely frightened look on the face. That's what I get most often. :)
In Computer Science we have the same problem, only the most common one is:
"Oh, can you fix my computer?"
To which our response is: "Uh maybe..."
But we are really thinking: "If I wanted to fix your computer, I wouldn't have bothered going to college...go ask that undergrad over there who is still living in the real world...."
Did I ever mention how much I hate math?
My response is not listed.
I laughed. Then I said whatever... you have fun with that.
And still I laugh that you major in MATH!
Post a Comment