Math: The language of God
WILMORE, KY—Most people don’t understand them. They tool for hours over complex math problems and physics formulas. They fold cranes, boxes and other tiny complex figures out of paper. They wear pocket protectors. And they actually enjoy it.
“I lot of people think I’m crazy for it,” said Kelly Christensen, a junior mathematics major from Canfield, Ohio. “They say, ‘Do you really enjoy pain?’ It is hard, but we like to think of math as the language of God. Mathematics can be seen throughout creation.”
Christensen says that the math department also has a wild and fun side that no one ever sees.
“We’re a giant family,” she said. “It’s the same people in all of the classes so we kind of become like brothers and sisters.”
But it’s not all about calculus, which Christensen calls the “easy” class. It’s also about First Fridays. On the first Friday of every month, math majors and their professors gather at Dr. David Coulliette’s home for food, movies, games and a lot of fun.
These geeks draw on their creative genes, as well. Each First Friday has it’s own theme, complete with costumes and jewelry made from computer chips. For Drive-in-Movie Night, a few students even crafted their own cars from cardboard boxes.
“Since we’re all self proclaimed geeks, we can be ourselves,” she said.
The geeks don’t keep to themselves; however, they believe it’s important to help everyone on campus connect with their inner nerd. Every year the department hosts Geek Week and invites the whole campus to explore technology, learn origami and most importantly, have a great time.
“Geek week is our chance to show that even though we love math, we can have fun. We are not all that boring.”
Being a math major has other perks, too. Due to small numbers of mathematics majors around the country, Asbury students have their pick of internships and job opportunities within the government, NASA, national laboratories, and colleges and universities.
Christensen is personally interested in biological mathematics, which models different mechanisms in the body, such as calculating blood flow and deterioration. She gets to explore math modeling, or applying mathematical formulas to real life situations, every February during an international math modeling competition. Each year, Asbury math modeling teams spend a weekend using their math skills to solve some of the world’s pressing problems, competing with schools such as MIT and the Naval Academy.
How do you like those numbers? For more information on the math department and how you can earn your pocket protector, contact David Coulliette.
Released: Nov. 16, 2007
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Tagged: mathematics and features
