麻豆约拍

This Wednesday just gone was National Numeracy Day, aimed at building number confidence in children and adults around the country.

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As a full-time poet who studied maths at university, I used to tell myself the two were very separate things, that maths was appealing because there were definite right answers and poetry was fun because there were fewer wrong ones. Yet the more time I spend with them both, the more I appreciate the overlap of that Venn diagram (and not just that people seem to be put off both from a young age!).

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Growing up in church it was tempting to look for the definite right answers in the bible as well. The ten commandments were pretty clear about what you should do with regards to murder, or coveting your neighbours ox, and there was even a whole book dedicated to numbers. Yet Jesus was as much a storyteller as a teacher, and let us not forget there are entire books of psalms, songs and proverbs too.听

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What maths and poetry do have in common for me is the idea of finding patterns and connections. Of trying to figure out our surroundings, be it with literal figures or figures of speech. To not only understand this world but be able to imagine a better one. In that respect you could add faith to this list too. Both the poet and the mathematician partake in what American writer Mary Oliver calls听Instructions for living a life:

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Pay attention

Be Astonished

Tell about it.

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In the poem known as Genesis, after making the world in 6 days, even God has a day off to rest and appreciate what (s)he has done. To pay attention. To be astonished.听

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To quote another poet, Ferris Bueller:

Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

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As restrictions continue to ease after this enforced period of stopping and looking around, as we relearn what it is to hang out in groups, to hug a friend, or to go to the pub, my prayer is that we do not feel the need to rush into things. That as life continues to move pretty fast, we would continue to pay attention to the world around us. To be astonished. And to tell about it.

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