[SOC] TEACHER ARRESTED!

[Mike Besemer (WM4B)]

I'll have to take exception to that last part.  Anyone who doubted the
existence of mathematical zero need look no further than my bank account!

72/3/4,

Mike
WM4B


> -----Original Message-----
> From: soc-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:soc-bounces at mailman.qth.net]
> On Behalf Of Bob Davis
> Sent: Sunday, August 17, 2008 6:07 PM
> To: Second Class Operators' Club
> Subject: Re: [SOC] TEACHER ARRESTED!
> 
> 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
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