[thechat] playing games

[Luther, Ron]

Erika Meyer noted:

>>music is so tied to math and I suck at math.  I mean, I SUCK at math.  


Hi Erika,

Bummer.  I've pretty much always loved math and enjoyed better than average proficiency at it.  There really *is* an experiential beauty to the graceful unfolding of ideas in math that can be every bit as satisfying as listening to a great song or seeing a great painting in person.  (For me, the proof of Urysohn's lemma is, even without formalwear, simply stunning!  The Cantor Diagonal argument {proving that the infinite number of real numbers is strictly greater than the infinite number of rational numbers} is cute and perky, eminently practical in a Swiss army knife sort of way, and, overall, a lot more accessible.)  Unfortunately, I think most people give up on climbing the math education mountain before they get to any of the scenic overlooks where they can see that kind of beauty for themselves.  


For me it took forever to realize (EJ to the contrary) that being an anal perfectionist (redundant - I know) is a hindrance to becoming a decent musician.  Now that I've given up on ever being good, my playing is better than ever!  ;-)    [It still sucks, mind you - it just sucks less than it used to.]


Cheers,
RonL.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantor_diagonal_argument