[SOC] TEACHER ARRESTED!

[Bob Davis]

Bob Roske wrote:
> A public school teacher was arrested today at John F. Kennedy 
> International Airport as he attempted to board a flight while in 
> possession of a ruler, a protractor, a set square, a slide rule, and a 
> calculator.  At a morning press conference, the New York Attorney 
> General said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-gebra 
> movement.  He did not identify the man who has been charged by the FBI 
> with carrying weapons
> of math instruction.
> 
> 'Al-gebra is a problem for us,' the Attorney General said.  'They desire 
> solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in a 
> search of absolute value.   They use secret code names like 'x' and 'y' 
> and refer to themselves as 'unknowns,' but we have determined they 
> belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates 
> in every country.  As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, 
> 'There are 3 sides to every triangle.' '

Funny!

Ironic that the word 'algebra' is an Arabic derivative.  From 'Al-jabr', 
'reunion of broken parts'.  The term in Arabic dates to the 9th century AD.

You know, kinda like 'alcohol', from the Arabic 'al-kuhul', which usage 
- describing cosmetics - predates beverage use by about three hundred years.

Funny how we use an Arabic word to make a joke out of terrorism and 
mathematics.  Islamic society was practicing higher mathematics when 
western Europeans were trusting to God to live through the winter 
instead of learning how to farm.  If it weren't for Islamic society, we 
wouldn't have the numerals we use everyday, nor (arguably) the concept 
of mathematical zero.

Funny.

Cheers,

Bob NQ3X