Math is fun

I went to Georgia Tech, chances are you know that. I graduated from that fine college, with five calculus courses on my academic record, but it was brutal at first. Here is the first exam at the end of week one, as best as I remember it, in a calculus course known simply as 1308.

1308 pigeons, each weighing 1308 grams, fall a distance of 1308 meters, where they impact a train moving at 1308 meters/sec.

1. Calculate the total mass of the pigeons. Easy.

2. Calculate the velocity of the pigeons at impact. Tougher.

3. Calculate the total kinetic energy at impact. What?

Bonus 5 points: Within 1/10 of a degree, state the mean temperature of Boston Bay on July 4, 1976.

Amazingly, in law school and my 40 years as a lawyer, I’ve never used differential calculus. Or came close to needing it.

That being said, my computer science background at Tech was very helpful in my government career. When an IT professional told me they “couldn’t” do something, I’d tell them how to do it. They stopped telling me “no,” and appreciated that I knew exactly what I wanted and how to get there.

So I get that differential calculus, or thermal dynamics, or circuit analysis isn’t for everybody, but thank goodness some people are smart enough to do that stuff. Because science, technology, engineering, and mathematics is vital to our national productivity. We are seventh in the world in labor productivity, but Ireland (#1) is 50% better than we are.

So call us Techies nerds if you want, but Techies invented WD-40, the NEXUS supercomputer, Google Glass, ISS (Internet Security Systems), and hundreds of other inventions that have transformed the world.

But for me, it was a rough start at Tech. I thought I was smart until I got there.

Kelly Burke was born in Knoxville where he spent his younger years, followed by high school years in Atlanta where he graduated from Georgia Tech, and Mercer Law School. He has been in private practice, a magistrate judge, and an elected district attorney. He writes about the law, politics, music, and Ireland. He and his wife enjoy gardening, playing with their Lagotto Ramanolo named George Harrison, and spending time with their grandchildren. To see this column or Kelly’s archives, visit www.kellyrburke.com. You can email Kelly at dakellyburke@gmail.com.