#especially with algebra and geometry

[loganremade]

i have to brush up my math skills because hoooly i was fucking confused in the algebra 1 class i helped with today

[romanceyourdemons]

whenever i go to a boba place and they’re speaking mandarin behind the counter there’s a part of me that thinks i could do it, i could be the white boy who SHOCKS staff by ordering in FLUENT CHINESE. but first of all why would i do that. whom does that help. and second of all i don’t know how to say 70% in mandarin which means i would need to get full-sweetness milk tea and i’m not strong enough for that

[thebluestbluewords]

happy holiday break, let’s talk class schedules

According to the Secrets of Auradon Prep tie-in book, AP runs on a rotating block schedule. Six periods per day, plus lunch. Pretty reasonable for a high school class schedule.

Homeroom once a week feels a little weird to me, but after an unofficial poll of some friends, it’s apparently not too uncommon for American high schools to only have it at the start of the week.

It’s sort of nice that the students get a study period every day, instead of having their free block/study block worked into the rotation with the rest of their classes.

In Mal’s Diary, we get another look at her schedule.

She’s in most of the same classes as the sample from before, but no chemistry class. Is Mal not interested in chemistry, or did Fairy Godmother decide it was more important for her to learn about evil fairies instead? Are there other “cultural history” type classes for other students, or did Fairy Godmother and whoever planned the class schedules for the other VKs just decide to pile on allll of the history/social studies classes for the VK to educate them in the ways of Auradon?

I think it’s funnier for me personally if Fairy Godmother received transcripts from Dragon Hall, looked at the VKs’ classes so far, and decided to say ‘fuck it’ on math and science classes, what these kids need is Auradon cultural education. Woodsmen, Fairies, Auradon History, and straight-up Goodness 101. One singular math class will take care of the rest, they’ll be fine.

[positively-knotted]

In tags under my response to @algebraic-dumbass, @associativeglassdesert said:

(If you've not seen that post, go read it).

This is interesting to me, but does go some way towards explaining why people like Lockhart's Lament. I've definitely seen other people express similar sentiments. However, I don't really get it.

High school geometry is terrible because it's boring. Lockhart does get that right. It's terrible for exactly the same reason that high school history and high school English and high school drama are terrible. People don't care. So you can't ask them to do anything hard, and therefore anything interesting.

Mathematicians often have this viewpoint that if only we got people to do this or that kind of maths in high school, it would be "better". Now a lot of that has merit, don't get me wrong. I think more emphasis on proof would be good for society at large. But even a more proof-heavy high school algebra would suck. It would still be boring to most people, because most people aren't mathematicians. And that's ok!

I don't know how to solve that problem, especially not at 2am, but I think the answer that "high school geometry sucks because it's insufficiently creative" or "it's too far from university geometry" are just pushing the problem elsewhere. You're just making it boring for a different subset of people. The problem is with the concept of standardised curricula much more than any individual course anyone could design.

[mads-hemmo]

Too Sweet - Jschlatt

Part 2

Masterlist

Reader is a math teacher who finds her computer science teacher coworker an asshole. Schlatt finds his algebra/geometry coworker very annoying. What happens when they are forced to be around each other and get along?

Schlatt takes a seat at one of the tables with a lunch from the cafeteria in his hand. You would prefer to just finish your lunch and not talk to him, but Ted has other plans. “Is there a game tonight?” Ted asks Schlatt.

“No, but we have one tomorrow night,” Schlatt replies.

“Is it at home?”

“Yes. Are you actually going to show up? You’ve mentioned it but I’ve never seen you there.” Schlatt looks up at Ted.

“I was just making small talk,” Ted admits with a laugh. Neither of you were the kind of teachers who go to games of any kind. You have in the past, but felt awkward when you sat by yourself.

“You may get some male leads if you show up. I know you’ve struggled with that in the past.”

You look at him. You want to speak up and say that there are many talented males in the theatre department. You also want to mention that unless he has some Troy Bolton’s on his team, it would be a waste of time.

“Are you going to the game?” Schlatt asks, looking up at you.

“Oh um I don’t know a lot about baseball,” you admit.

“It’s not that hard to understand. Plus my players may respect you more if you come to watch them play.”

You want to tell him to fuck off, but you know you need to be civil. “Yeah maybe. I guess I can check my schedule. Ted and I can go together,” you suggest.

Ted looks over at you with an apologetic look. “Yeah, kill two birds with one stone,” he jokes.

You all continue to eat. Ted and Schlatt are making small talk about random things while you listen. You hear the classroom door open and see Tucker or Mr.Keane, the environmental science teacher, walk in. “Sorry I’m late. I had to set up the lab for my next period. What did I miss?” He asks, sitting down near Schlatt.

“(Y/N) and I are attending the baseball game tomorrow if you want to join us,” Ted tells them.

“Sure since I’ve been trying to get you two to come to a game with me,” Tucker says, giving you both a look. “Oh (Y/N), how did your date go this weekend?”

“It was okay. I don’t think there will be a second one though,” you admit. You had met the guy on Tinder and he seemed nice, but there wasn’t much chemistry.

“Why not?” Schlatt asks. You wish he wasn’t here. Why did Ted have to be a nice guy and invite him to eat with you guys? You have formed a connection with Ted and Tucker and don’t feel like including someone else.

You shrug. “He was nice. We just had nothing in common. He also kept saying that he doesn’t understand why anyone would want to be a teacher.”

“You need to stop taking chances with Tinder guys,” Ted says.

“Oh he was from Tinder. There’s your problem right there. I can tell you why it didn’t work out for you,” Schlatt comments.

You sink in your seat a bit. You don’t mind if Tucker or Ted say something to you because you know they are teasing, but Schlatt’s words affect you more than they should. You check the time on your phone. You still have about fifteen more minutes of your lunch break, but you can’t stay here much longer. “I need to work on my lesson plans, so I’ll see you all later,” you say, standing up.

Ted gives you a knowing look. You can sense that he is aware of why you are really leaving. “Okay. Have a great rest of your day. I’ll see you after school,” Ted tells you.

You nod. Tucker waves at you with a mouthful of food. “Bye (Y/L/N),” Schlatt tells you as you walk out. “Is she always that quiet?” he asks Ted once he assumes you are gone.

You decide to stay and listen. “She’s shy, especially around people she doesn’t know well,” Ted tells him.

“I think you intimidate her,” Tucker speaks up. You want to walk in and let them know how you really feel about him, but decide to keep walking. You might as well actually go work on stuff while you have the chance.

As you walk away, you feel a tear fall down your cheek. You quickly wipe it away, not letting some asshole ruin your day.

-

At the end of the day, you gather your things. You walk by Schlatt's classroom, sighing in relief that he isn’t there. You are glad that he is at baseball practice so you don’t have to deal with him anymore today.

You smile when you see Ted standing by his Tacoma. You two carpool everyday since you live in the same apartment complex. “How did lesson planning go?” Ted asks, raising an eyebrow.

“”It was good. Got a lot done actually,” you tell him, getting in his truck. “How was the rest of your lunch?”

“Fine. Wish you were there, but other than that. It was good.”

“Why did you have to invite him to lunch?”

“I know Tucker can be a lot, but he’s my best friend,” he teases. You give him a look. “Schlatt’s not a bad guy. He just has no filter.”

“That’s a nice way to call someone an asshole,” you say, crossing your arms. “Well he’s mainly only an adshole to me, but still.”

“Maybe he likes you.”

You punch his arm. “I hate when people say that to our students. Just like I tell them, he is a bully and I’ll make a report.”

“Okay fair,” Ted says, rubbing his arm. “I think you just need to get to know each other. You actually have a lot in common.”

“I have nothing in common with him. The only thing we have in common is we teach in the same building and have the same prep period.”

Ted sighs, knowing that it is a loss cause to argue with you today. “Do you still want to go to the game tomorrow?”

“Yes. It would be good to watch my students play and it’s not like we have anything better to do with our lives.”

“Very true. I think it’s at like 6, so we can go home then I’ll pick you back up,” Ted tells you. You nod as he pulls in front of your apartments. “Have a great night, (Y/N/N). Call me if you need anything.”

You wave as you get out. “I will! See you tomorrow,” you tell him. You are greeted by your cat, Luna, as you walk inside your apartment. “Hi baby. Hope your day was better than mine.”

You quickly change out of your work clothes into your pajamas. You almost press on the Tinder app, but decide to delete it instead. Maybe Schlatt’s right, maybe you’ll meet someone in real life instead.

A/N: yay part 2!! I’m so excited to continue this fic!! I know Schlatt is an ass, but he gets better. (Maybe…) also yay for Tucker!! I feel like he would be such a shit stirrer and we love him for that. Please let me know what you think! Hope you enjoyed! I’m going to answer some reqs before I write part 3!

[lieut-john-irving]

Exam results (Royal Naval College)

For this, I am not 100% sure if it is our John. Only because some dates don’t line up exactly: with Bell's book (1881) saying that John entered the naval college in Portsmouth on the 25th June 1828. If John graduated in 685 days as written below, then that would have made his enrolment date the 6th August 1828. However, I realise this excludes weekends, holidays, and perhaps some time to settle etc. So it’s a little messy to establish concrete confirmation with the given dates! But the timeframe is reliable, the high results — especially in maths — are consistent with what we know about his academic career (high midshipman’s scores and gained full numbers in maths!), the college title and location is consistent, and as far as I know there was not another John Irving who was the same age and in the same school. So it could simply be a date mix up due to the lack of detail.

Here’s my transcription regardless, because if it is him it’s so cool! And if solid information is found I will be sure to provide updates.

Source: RUSI/NM/243 Greenwich National Maritime Museum (& much appreciation to @cdr-edwardlittle for finding the entry 🫶!!)

"Royal Naval College, 22nd June 1830.

Mr. John Irving

Finished his Mathematical Education at the Royal Naval College in 685 days; being 45 days less than the Two Years; and made the following Progress,—730 being the full numbers.

[Days at College; or, Numbers expected in that Time], [Numbers gained], [Remarks = N/A for all].

- Mathematics = 685; 730

- English and Classics = 685; 690

- History and Geography = 685; 600

- French = 685; 600

- Drawing = 685; 630

Gained the following numbers at the Midshipmen‘s Examination.

[Value of full Answer a], [Value given a], [Remarks], [Value of full Answer b], [Value given b].

1. 10. 10 —- Geometry. 40. 35

2. 10. 10 Course & Distance. —-

3. 10. 10 Parallel Sailing. Arithmetic, & [S] —-

4. 10. 10 Current. —-

5. 30. 28 Days Work. Algebra. 50. 47 1/2

6. 10. 10 Time of *s on Merid: —-

7. 10. 10 O's Merid: Alt. Trigonometry. 50. 46

8. 10. 10 [symbol]‘s Merid: Alt. —-

9. 10. 10 *'s Merid: Alt. Astronomy. 50. 40 1/2

10. 10. 10 * under Pole. —-

11. 10. 10 Pole *. Navigation. 280. 278

12. 40. 40 Double Alt: —-

13. 30. 30 Chronometer. Instruments, —-

14. 40. 40 Lunar. —-

15. 10. 10 Amplitude. Mercator‘s Chart, —-

16. 20. 20 Azimuth —-

17. 10. 10 Tide. & Surveying. 40. 34 1/2

18-21. —- Gunnery & Fortification. 50. 35

Total = 280 / Total = 278

Total = 560 / Total = 516 1/2

Examined on the 22nd June 1830, and allowed Two Years Time of Service at Sea, being found Qualified to be Discharged into His Majesty‘s Navy.

Thomas Foley - Admiral and Commander in Chief.

[Michael Seymour?] - Commissioner.

Wentworth Loring - Lieut. Gov. Royal Naval College."

Context =

Source: Lieut. John Irving, R.N. of H.M.S. “Terror,” in Sir John Franklin’s Last Expedition to the Arctic Regions: A Memorial Sketch with Letters. Edited by Benjamin Bell, F.R.C.S.E. (1881): https://ia801404.us.archive.org/31/items/cihm_29830/cihm_29830.pdf

[positivelyapunovexponent-good]

One of the really amusing things about college is that if you pay attention you sometimes can discern some of your professor's favorite pet concepts.

For instance, in my Topology course this semester, the Zariski topology has come up at least once in every single homework set so far, and in multiple lectures.

And okay, that's not that weird. The Zariski topology is a really important object in a LOT of fields, especially algebraic geometry. And discussing it at length is a really pedagogically sound move because the Zariski topology is a good example of a topology with a very well motivated structure (the closed sets are the algebraic sets!) that still very naturally gives rise to a lot of strange features, like the way all open sets in the standard topology are Zariski-dense. It was quite effective at startling me out of the complacency of unconsciously basing my intuition of how topologies behave entirely on the standard topology on the reals. So my professor bringing up Zariski so often doesn't necessarily mean he has any special affection for it.

except...

My professor writes many of the homework problems himself. Not all of them - the less interesting ones he lifts from the textbook- but some. Well, every single Zariski topology question I've encountered so far is an original from this guy. I know because the all the questions he writes personally have paragraphs of commentary contextualizing why he thinks the problem is interesting and where the ideas in the problem are going later in the course. And well- let's just say the asides on the Zariski topology have been copious indeed

AND THEN there's the way he talks about the Zariski topology in class! It's with this blend of enthusiasm and fascination only comparable to the way I've seen tumblrites talk about their blorbos. Like hey! Come behold this sgrungy little guy! Isn't he fucked up? Isn't he marvelous? And I look and I can only conclude YEAH that is indeed a spectacular specimen, he's so strange, I want to put him in a terrarium and study him (and then I get to! In my homeworks!)

Anyways. It makes me really happy picking up on how excited my professor is to share this topology with us. I'm kind of baffled that people assume math is a boring field full of boring people when there exist folks like my professor who get this passionate about a topology!

[tthatsonme]

Intellect, by molly.

— People often underestimate the seriousness of your sudden shift of motivation, in this day and age; it’s uncommon to see anyone (especially younger people) read a book or have any interest in having goals whatsoever, but you’re different, you’ve set the curve, you’re the centre of attention and everyone should be like you especially when it comes to academics, parents are constantly asking you to teach their kids your way because of how effortless your work ethic and dedication to school seems.

— Whenever the teacher needs an example on how to do a math equation or what a well written and worded essay SHOULD look like they always hold up your assignments as an example, you are 100% the best example of what a student should be like an any generation but especially this one, all of the parents and guardians with the “brain rotted iPad babies” or “wasting their lives away because of technology addiction teenagers” beg you to tell them what your “secret is” but maybe you’re not even fully aware of your greatness or level of discipline and success.

— You have a very distinct and important morning routine that you do every day, whether your routine has 4-steps or 40-steps it’s almost like it’s been burned into your DNA to follow it daily, your routine is not optional, you have the most perfect sleep schedule it’s almost as perfect as you, but in case you need a late study night you wake up everyday well rested regardless of whether you slept a full 8-hours or not, your memory to do things is amazing, you have a better memory than most people in your classes, you remember everything that you hear, read, and write in terms of school, you remember how to spell everything, your handwriting is always neat and legible, you could basically rewrite the dictionary at this point, fun fact: most people in this generation aren’t fluent in English because of the lack of spelling and vocabulary (my teacher said this so it’s probably true), while the other people in your class are crying over the phone ban if you have you you’re perfectly fine without your phone for 6-8 hours a day, you’ve never had any issues writing stories or having original thoughts, you have an extremely expanded vocabulary and are an amazing writer, “You don’t use brain rot?? Nerd alert!” It’s surprising to hear someone only use quote “brain rot terms” ironically, whilst the rest of the world is having unintelligent conversations about skibidi toilet and whatnot you’re the complete opposite.

— You have no issues in and are the best at all forms of mathematics, geometry, algebra, calculus, arithmetic, trigonometry, number theory, statistics, set theory, topology, discrete mathematics, probability, combinatorics, numbers, mathematics analysis, analytical geometry, differential equations, applied mathematics, game theory, pure mathematics, linear algebra, numerical analysis, and matrix algebra, natural sciences, engineering, medicine, finance, computer science and social sciences, biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, earth sciences, zoology, ecology, microbiology, astrophysics, neuroscience, logic, ethics, psychology, philosophy, mechanics, and social sciences, morphology, sociolinguistics, pragmatics, psycholinguistic, linguistics, phonetics, historical linguistics, stylistics, and computational linguistics plus whatever other courses and classes that you have. [If this last part seems random it’s because it is, it’s copy and pasted from a personal sub I made a year ago for 11th grade :p]

_Things to remember

You can and will only ever manifest what you desire from this subliminal

Make sure not to obsess over your results because they can lead to limiting beliefs

You don’t have to listen daily or 1-7 times or anything like that, one is always enough with any subliminal :)

[rubenpig]

3.14159 THIS IS PI, FOLLOWED BY. 26585-

The number π (/paɪ/ ⓘ; spelled out as pi) is a mathematical constant, approximately equal to 3.14159, that is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. It appears in many formulae across mathematics and physics, and some of these formulae are commonly used for defining π, to avoid relying on the definition of the length of a curve.The number π is an irrational number, meaning that it cannot be expressed exactly as a ratio of two integers, although fractions such as 227{\displaystyle {\tfrac {22}{7}}} are commonly used to approximate it. Consequently, its decimal representation never ends, nor enters a permanently repeating pattern. It is a transcendental number, meaning that it cannot be a solution of an algebraic equation involving only finite sums, products, powers, and integers. The transcendence of π implies that it is impossible to solve the ancient challenge of squaring the circle with a compass and straightedge. The decimal digits of π appear to be randomly distributed, but no proof of this conjecture has been found.For thousands of years, mathematicians have attempted to extend their understanding of π, sometimes by computing its value to a high degree of accuracy. Ancient civilizations, including the Egyptians and Babylonians, required fairly accurate approximations of π for practical computations. Around 250 BC, the Greek mathematician Archimedes created an algorithm to approximate π with arbitrary accuracy. In the 5th century AD, Chinese mathematicians approximated π to seven digits, while Indian mathematicians made a five-digit approximation, both using geometrical techniques. The first computational formula for π, based on infinite series, was discovered a millennium later. The earliest known use of the Greek letter π to represent the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter was by the Welsh mathematician William Jones in 1706. The invention of calculus soon led to the calculation of hundreds of digits of π, enough for all practical scientific computations. Nevertheless, in the 20th and 21st centuries, mathematicians and computer scientists have pursued new approaches that, when combined with increasing computational power, extended the decimal representation of π to many trillions of digits.[1][2] These computations are motivated by the development of efficient algorithms to calculate numeric series, as well as the human quest to break records. The extensive computations involved have also been used to test supercomputers as well as stress testing consumer computer hardware.Because it relates to a circle, π is found in many formulae in trigonometry and geometry, especially those concerning circles, ellipses and spheres. It is also found in formulae from other topics in science, such as cosmology, fractals, thermodynamics, mechanics, and electromagnetism. It also appears in areas having little to do with geometry, such as number theory and statistics, and in modern mathematical analysis can be defined without any reference to geometry. The ubiquity of π makes it one of the most widely known mathematical constants inside and outside of science. Several books devoted to π have been published, and record-setting calculations of the digits of π often result in news headlines.

[maths-screaming]

Reading Books on Dyscalculia

Books on dyscalculia may have started this process, but they haven't been terribly helpful mid-journey.

Which isn't to say I don't recommend them! Especially if you are a parent or teacher of students with dyscalculia, or if you are trying to understand your own dyscalculia!

It's just that I expected them to offer more insight into the condition and more concrete ways to address it, and most of them...aren't. At least, they're not telling me anything I haven't figured out on my own from re-learning basic arithmetic with current best practices in teaching.

The facts are:

We don't actually know all that much about dyscalculia currently. The reams of research on dyslexia don't have a counterpart for dyscalculia. That research is currently being done - it's a very exciting time to be in the field - but it'll be 10-20 years before you and I can just go read works on dyscalculia that have the same depth and rigor as works on dyslexia do now.

We know even less about dyscalculia in adults. Less of everything. We know less about how it affects adult lives, how it affects adult cognition, how adults work around it, and how to teach adults.

Good luck finding resources on dyscalculia in teens and adults tackling advanced math classes. The overwhelming majority of resources are for teaching early number sense, counting, and basic arithmetic.

On point 3, I think of myself as an ad hoc test subject: I'm going to find out if I learn* algebra, trig, and stats more easily once I finally understand basic arithmetic. I'm going to see if the strategies and approaches I'm using for relearning basic arithmetic carry through, and if so, how far. I haven't yet found any books or resources that answer that question for me.

But if you are a parent or teacher of kids with dyscalculia and/or you want to read up on what we do know, here's what's on my reading list currently:

Dyscalculia: Action Plans for Successful Learning in Mathematics, by Glynis Hannell. An overview of teaching/tutoring strategies for early learners. Most of these recommendations will work best in a one-on-one or small group setting, so I'd actually recommend this book for parents more than for teachers.

The Dyscalculia Resource Book: Games and Puzzles for Ages 7 to 14, by Ronit Bird. A collection of games and puzzles to teach number sense, arithmetic facts families, and so on. Pretty thin on the why and how behind dyscalculia, though.

The Trouble With Maths: A Practical Guide to Helping Learners With Numeracy Difficulties, Steve Chinn. Steve Chinn's name appears on several books on dyscalculia at this point (not all of which I could find through interlibrary loan). This book is a blend of theory and practice; it's not exactly recreational reading, but it's very insightful.

---

*I'd say "re-learn," but I didn't really learn any of middle or high school math - at least not in a way that allowed me to retain any of it, with the notable exception of geometry.

[123rsc]

Lol I tried double tapping your bio to like it. Very nice bio very cool.

I noticed the math opinions section and that means I have to ask you this common debate: is tau useful at all?

I really need to shorten my bio lmao - I just can’t have an intro pinned post with how much I rely on the link I currently have pinned

Oh boy, the never ending raging debate about tau. Putting my thoughts below the cut:

I used to be a lot more open to the idea of “changing all standards to slightly improve convenience”, especially over the pandemic; the prototypical example is jan Misali’s seximal fractions (even despite his warning in the video itself that actually taking such a proposed change seriously would only end in ruin), though pandemic era me could be convinced of anything from using decimeters as a standard unit of length (since centimeters are too small and meters are too large) to any conceivable improvement to the archaic standards we have for music notation.

Since then, two things have happened: I’ve grown to realize that any attempt to change a currently existing standard will result in yet another competing standard to choose from, and I’ve burnt out from the discussion about high school algebra and trigonometry; I now hold the opinion that math only truly becomes fun once you get up to calculus, and even then you still need to have your basic algebraic manipulation skills down to do anything fancy with it, no matter how annoying.

I don’t think I was ever a fan of tau to begin with, but at this point I’ve been using pi for trigonometry for long enough that I’m used to it. It’s better to save tau for other purposes in math and physics anyway, such as the time constant of an exponentially decaying system, torsion in differential geometry, or as a replacement for if the variable t is being used already (as seen with convolution).

[cursedmagician]

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⠀⠀all about me ... ᯓ★

my name is either magician or holograph to you, he / they, 14 and taken !! ( @sillystrwby ) enfp, 3w2

this is my personal blog, which I post basically anything on. sometimes I post journal entries and nothing posts, but a lot of the time I post art and maybe the occasional writing. most fandom focused too.

asks and anons are open and I would really like them!! art requests are subject to availability but I will pretty much pick and choose what I like.

I have no strict dni except for nsfw, bigots and proshippers. although if you’re on my page just to pick a fight then just get out pls

bluesky instagram

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⠀⠀likes !! ＞。☆

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⠀⠀tags ꩜ .ᐟ

# magician.iso ➤ general blogging, journalling, misc posts that fit more generally # sketchbook.folder ➤ serious art, official art and art I put effort in # scrapbook.folder ➤ sketches, doodles, shitpost art, studies and other misc art # stage.drive ➤ rambles, yapping, among other things... # type.txt ➤ writing of any kind! includes short stories, poems, ideas, and links to longer works.

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[positively-knotted]

For the ask game:

8. Least favorite notation you’ve ever seen?

9. Do you have any favorite theorems?

18. Can you share a good math problem you’ve solved recently?

:)))

8. Ooh there are so many to choose from, especially in the difftop/diffgeom space tbh. But they're all cold takes, and anyways, "differential geometry is the study of things that are invariant under change of notation". So here's a hotter take: Z_p for the p-adics is awful.

Basically everyone uses the cyclic group/finite field/finite ring with p elements. C_p is ok notation for the group, but we seem to be agreed that it doesn't work for the ring. Z/p is ill-defined, but I guess it's fine if we have to, and Z/pZ is way too long for such a basic object. Everyone other than number theorists writes Z_p and they mess it up for everyone. The p-adics are a completion! Put a hat somewhere!!

9. Shockingly not really? I'm quite mercurial when it comes to theorems, I love them until I get too used to them. But in general I'm quite fond of theorems that are known for all except one dimension. 4 is obviously famous for this, but there's stuff like the following. Excuse the long set-up

Let Θ_n be the homotopy n-spheres up to h-cobordism [in essence, manifolds that are homotopic to S^n but only considering homotopies that can't be spread out over some "spacetime" (n+1)-manifold]. This forms a group under the connected sum, look at the subgroup bP of elements which bound manifolds with trivial tangent bundle. This it turns out is cyclic, and is known for every n other than n=126. Which uh, sure. It's either order 1 or 2, but we don't know which. [Edit: @locally-normal has pointed out there is a paper in preparation showing its 2! Neat.]

18. You get two bc I can't pick. Here's a fun but quite tricky one. Everything is smooth and oriented.

Suppose that Σ_1, Σ_2 are two embedded surfaces in some 4-manifold X, which represent the same homology class. Show there exists an embedded 3-manifold Y in X×I whose boundary is the union of Σ_i×{i}.

Here's one that I think is doable if you've done roughly master's level algebraic topology, along with enough group cohomology to calculate very simple examples.

Let X be a CW complex with cyclic fundamental group. Show that every homology class in H_2(X;Z) can be represented by a sphere.

[im-not-a-l0ser]

Her: Chapter Two

These chapters are much longer than the prologue, but this one is a few hundred short of the last chapter.

Feedback for this would also be amazing as well, especially since I feel pretty iffy about this chapter

CW- Deadnaming, insecurity, but other than that, it's a pretty wholesome chapter I think.

They told their mom as soon as they decided. 

They didn’t know if their father overheard or not, but the next thing they knew, he was telling them that he was staying at Jerry’s for a while. 

He said that they were welcome to visit. 

They didn’t think they would. 

By the time their mom reached Paul, the work week had started again, and Paul told her that he’d be busy until that weekend. 

They spent the rest of the week slowly tidying up for the visit. 

Paul was very boring looking. He was just an average guy. 

“You must be my…” Paul stopped talking, realising his mistake. “It’s nice to meet you, Kai,” He said instead, giving up on his original statement completely. “Your mother tells me you’re going into your freshman year?”

“Yeah,” They responded. “I’m actually excited, I’m gonna be in Geometry next year, since I took Algebra in my eighth grade year! I’m gonna be one of the only freshman amongst sophomores!”

They really were excited. The topic shook their nerves nearly immediately.

“Although, I think I’m gonna quit the swim team,” They said. 

“Oh,” Their mom remarked. “Sorry. I mean, it’s not surprising, this is just the first I’m hearing about it officially. Y’know what, I’m gonna go make dinner.” She rushed off, trying to avert the awkwardness. 

“Why do you think you’re gonna quit?” Paul asked. 

He seemed in between uncomfortable, anxious and just straight up socially awkward. But that was okay! Kai was feeling that way too!

“Well, I, uh…” They swallowed. “It’s a girl’s team.”

“Ah, yeah,” Paul said, seeming to understand immediately. “Your, uh, your mom told me that you’re feeling a little nebulous about your identity. And that’s super fine, we all go through that.”

“Really?” They asked with a small laugh, not believing it in the slightest.

“Sure! I mean, I went through it at least twice. And learning about the world helps us learn about ourselves,” He said. “When I was in high school, I came out as bisexual, but I’m actually somewhere on the ace-spectrum, which means I’m not really attracted to anyone in general. Some people, sure, but not a lot.”

“Oh,” Kai hummed. 

“Labels can change more than once, is what I’m saying,” Paul said, “So there’s no rush to get it right the first time.” 

“Okay,” Kai said quietly. “You seem to know a lot about this.”

“Yeah, this isn’t the first time I’ve had this conversation,” Paul admitted. “My buddy Bill has a daughter, and she had trouble with her identity too. And Bill said he was out of his element, but claimed since I knew what I was in high school, that I’d be great at it!”

“I mean, you seem pretty great at it.”

“I wasn’t before, she’s actually how I figured out I’m asexual, because we kept talking in circles, and uh…” Paul looked around. “She had her friend Ziggs over and we all got high, and that really helped.”

Kai barked a laugh. They were not expecting that. 

“Yeah, it was a weird experience. Being high with two highschoolers and a basically sober one? Very odd thing to go through as a man in his late twenties,” He said, his eyes wide and staring off, as if he were recalling a war story. 

“Isn’t that three high schoolers total?” Kai asked. “Who was the other one?”

“Oh, Alice’s friend Deb,” Paul said. He cocked his head momentarily in thought. “Well, friends at the time. They’re dating now, going on a year I think.”

“Oh,” Kai said again. “That’s nice.”

“I think so too,” Paul said. “Bill’s still getting used to it. I think it just stresses him out, since he wasn’t able to figure it out or help. He thinks that Alice and I bonded better in that one day than they have from her whole life.” Paul shook his head. “I don’t think so. He tries really hard for her. She thinks they might be getting a divorce, which I haven’t seen first hand, but I understand. And she told me she wanted to live with him. And I think that’s just about as good as you can get with being a parent.”

“I’d want to live with my mom,” Kai said. “No offense.”

“None taken, I don’t like my brother either,” Paul said, shaking his head. “Anyway, maybe I could get you in contact with Alice. It might help to be around people your age. Or, y’know, I think my other… co-worker has a little brother your age.”

“Really?” Kai asked. “What’s his name?”

“I don’t know his brother’s name, sorry. But my co-workers name is Ted Spankoffski, if that means anything to you.”

“The last name sounds familiar,” Kai said. “I might’ve had classes with him before.”

“Probably,” Paul said. “Your mom said you’re a smart kid. And that kid is a nerd.” Kai laughed. 

“No shame in that,” They said, motioning to their admittedly geeky Doctor Who shirt. 

“Never said there was,” Paul said, putting up his hands half-defensively. 

“Kai, could you come set the table!” Their mother called from the other room. 

Kai excused themselves and began setting the table. They set it the same as they always did, since their father wasn’t there. 

Kai heard the door open. Maybe Paul left something in his car. They were setting silverware next to the plates when they heard yelling. 

They froze and their breathing became shallow. Their eyes glassed over.

It hadn’t even been very long since they last heard their name— their real name. But it hurt.

Eventually the yelling became more muffled and Paul walked into the kitchen.

“There was a kid at the door,” He said, seeming stunned.

“Sorry,” Kai said, their voice creaking.

“Whoa, ho,” Paul said, rushing to their side. “It’s not your fault, it’s okay.”

It was their fault. It felt like their fault. Whoever it was was looking for them. 

“Okay?” Paul asked, realising that Kai hadn’t really processed what he said. Kai nodded, shaking slightly.

“Okay…”

“Okay.”

“Okay!” Their mom said, entering the room. “Dinner’s ready.”

_________________________

A few weeks later, their mom, Paul, and Paul’s friends/co-workers set up a get together at a local restaurant. 

There was a girl with dark red hair, along with one with ginger hair. There was a kid sitting on the other side of Kai, with dark hair that was pulled back into a ponytail, showing a slightly overgrown undercut. 

Next to the red haired girl was a black man who reminded Kai of his classmate Jason. Across from him, a white moustached man— definitely related to undercut.

“Alright, so, everyone, this is my… the child of my brother. Their name is Kai. Kai, this is Alice, Deb, Bill, Ted, and…”

“Peter,” The person sitting next to Kai said. 

“Peter,” Paul said with a polite smile. “They’re all like us.” He looked down at his utensils awkwardly. “Except Bill,” He said, “Bill is a cishet man, he just happens to have a lesbian daughter.”

“Oh, our friend Ziggs is coming too,” Alice said. “They’re wrapping up a… at work right now.” 

“Ziggs?” Kai asked. 

“Yep,” Deb said. 

“That’s… not a name.” 

Deb and Alice giggled to each other.

“Yeah, that’s not really a thing,” Peter said. “I know someone called Stopwatch.” He cocked his head slightly, indicating thought. “Well, technically his legal name is going to be Daniel, but that’s just for job applications and stuff. He doesn’t want to be discriminated against for being trans.”

“Names are just as made up as everything else,” Deb said. “Oh, speaking of made up gender stuff. Pronouns, c’mon.”

“Oh, right, sorry,” Paul said. “I use he/him, but they/them are cool too.”

“She/They,” Deb said. 

“I use she/her, but not super exclusively either,” Alice said. Her whole demeanour was kind of nervous. She was playing with the sleeves pulled over her hands.

“Uhh,” Bill said. “He/Him? I don’t really understand it…” Pete leaned over to talk to Richie quietly. 

“We keep trying to tell him that he’s greygender, but he doesn’t get the whole thing,” He said. 

“I use he/him,” Ted said, seeming a bit annoyed. 

“He/Him,” Peter said too.

And now all eyes were on Kai. They looked down. 

“Uh,” They hesitated. “I don’t know. I-I’m not a girl though…” 

“Ah,” Peter said. “Yeah, I feel that.”

“Don’t we all,” A new unknown voice said. When Kai looked back up, there was someone else sitting at the table, next to Deb. 

They had dark hair poking out of their beanie, an eyebrow slit, and wore a sleeveless turtleneck. 

“Hey, Ziggs, they/them. My friends call me Ziggy. Sorry I’m late.” 

“It’s okay,” Kai said meekly. 

Ziggs’ whole attitude make Kai nervous, but in a… good way? It kind of reminded them of—

“So you’re questioning your identity, huh?” Ziggs asked. “I do not miss that.” Deb backhanded their arm. 

“What they mean is, they understand. And it can be a long journey, but it’s worth it. Labels like the ones under LGBTQIA+ umbrella can really help you understand yourself.”

“And make you more comfortable with yourself,” Peter said. “I lived like a girl for nearly twelve years, and I feel much more happy now.”

“It shows too,” Ted said. “I mean, he’s still a total scrub, but at least he feels like going outside sometimes. Even if it’s just once a month.” He punctuated his statement with a noogie upon Pete’s head, who shoved his arm away. “He’s actually enrolling in a tap class, fuckin’ finally!”

“I’ve been wanting to,” Peter admitted, “And mom says it’ll help me… make friends.”

“I asked out Deb,” Alice said. “A-After I figured myself out.”

“We were just friends before that,” Deb commented.

“You were friends before?” Kai asked. 

“Yeah,” Deb said. “For like three years.”

“Weren’t… Weren’t you afraid it’d change your relationship?”

“Uh, no?” Deb said. “We wanted our relationship to change.”

“But what if you broke up, what then?” Kai asked, their voice laced with anxiety and speed. “And what if you learned something new about your identity, and that made them stop loving you, even platonically? What if you don’t actually… like each other like that…” They slowed down at the end there.

Alice was shaking, which Deb must’ve noticed. She took Alice’s hand. 

“It’s worth the risk,” They said. “And we were really good friends before. If that friendship couldn’t survive a change in relationship and a change back, then it wouldn’t have survived our lives in the long run. And y’know. It’s survived this long.”

“I’m guessing you’ve got a friend you like?” Ziggs asked.

“I, I don’t know for sure if I like him. I just don’t want him dating someone else,” Kai admitted. “A-And I don’t think he’d like me now that I’m… like this.”

“Have you talked to him about it.”

“I don’t want to,” Kai spat immeaditely. “I don’t want him to think of me differently.”

“Isn’t that the whole point though?” Peter asked. “Like, he’d see you as… not what you really are otherwise.” 

“So?” Kai asked. “He likes me like that. He likes that me.”

“If he likes that you, he’ll like this you,” Ziggs said. “Like, if he likes you for reals, then yeah, he’ll like you like this.” They chuckled. “I mean, I wasn’t always like this. But when I came out to my friends and family, they accepted me. My mom’s paying for me to get a septum piercing next month.”

“But if they don’t accept you,” Paul said, “That doesn’t mean they never loved you. It just means they’re too shallow to let their image of you change.” Kai smiled weakly, knowing he was probably just adding to that because of his own brothers.

“I just, it’s easier this way.” Kai said. “Maybe I’ll change my mind.” They sighed and slouched down into their chair. “I just want to start over.”

“Well,” Peter said. “Maybe you can. We’re in the same grade, yeah?” Kai shifted in their seat under the anxiety that Pete might know who they really are. They nodded. “That means we’re going to high school next year. Everything’s gonna be different. Now’s the time to change.”

“It’s not the worst idea,” Ziggs said with a small nod. “I did that on accident I think,” They said with a laugh. “There are definitely people at school who don’t realise who I used to be. You have plenty of time to figure out who you want to be. A few more months.”

“I’m not sure it’s the best idea either though,” Paul said. “But I’ll help with whatever you need. We could probably get your name changed too if you want.”

“Isn’t that expensive?”

“Aren’t your parents getting divorced?” Ted asked, getting everyone’s attention. “The judge can change your last name to your mom’s depending on the situation.”

“Why do you know that?” Bill asked. 

“I agree,” Peter said, “Our parents are not divorced.”

“Our parents never even got legally married,” Ted said. “Just had a party and exchanged rings.”

“That makes it even weirder that you know!” Peter exclaimed. 

“He’s right though,” Paul said. “And you’re definitely going to be put in your mother’s custody. I’ll testify against your dad.” 

“Thanks,” Kai said. “I don’t know yet though.”

“And I’ve already got your mother set up with my uncle. He’s an attorney. Luckily I got to him before my brother did. Not that I think he’d be on his side. He’s been in numerous relationships with men.”

“Here,” Ziggs said, pulling a small pen that seemed to have been tucked under their beanie, behind their ear. “I’ll write down our information. And if you need to talk to someone your age about help with your identity, or the divorce, or anything else…” They held the pen to their lips momentarily. “Just text whoever you need.” They continued writing. “Alice, are you okay with me putting you on here?” Alice nodded. 

They continued to write down phone numbers and usernames for themself and their friends.

“Peter, I don’t have your stuff, do you want to add them?” Peter held his hands out for the napkin and pen. 

He wrote slowly and carefully to help preserve the information on the napkin. 

“There,” He said, sliding it over.

The napkin had each name, followed by a colon and the contact information. Next to the highschoolers, there was a symbol to relay what platform was being used, for instagram, snapchat, phone number, and even a crudely drawn discord symbol. 

“Thank you.”

“Hey, man,” Deb said. “Us queers gotta stick together, y’know?”

“Yeah,” Alice spoke up. “Even if people here in Hatchetfield are more accepting than most are, there are still some terrible people. And some that just don’t understand.”

“And others who aren’t willing to,” Paul added, thinking back to his side of their family. 

“But you’re not alone, okay?” Peter said. 

Kai nodded.

[lipshits-continuous]

answer all the primes on the real's mathblr ask post!

Hopefully I don't miss any, here goes! I'll put it under a cut cause my answer to 2. is already long oops

2. What math classes did you do best in?

I got 93% in my differential geometry exam last year which is my best grade. It was definitely the easiest module relative to the difficulty of other third year modules.

It also helped that one of the lecturers refused a question from the past exam that we were given solutions to

I also got 91% in the analysis module I took last year which was half measure theory and half an intro to functional analysis. And I got 90% in complex analysis, multivariable calculus, and pdes. It may come as a surprise that topology wasn't my best but do to a mix of personal circumstances, the exam being at the very end of a long exam season and the exam having a more combinatorial flavour in the second half all played against me (not that I did badly, I still got 83% but was my second lowest grade last year)

3. What math classes did you like the most?

In first year linear algebra was my favourite and being able to give tutorials in it this year I still think it's one of my favourites.

Complex analysis is also still high up there and is probably what spawned my love of topology (the topological stuff was definitely more present than in real analysis).

Obviously topology is also one of my favourites, though as alluded to in the previous question there was a more combinatorial approach to some things which I wasn't as much of a fan of (they did change the course significantly for this year though and it seems much better). Differential geometry was also very enjoyable.

This year, algebraic topology has obviously been one of my favourites, even if the second term lecturer wasn't the most organised person. I enjoyed representation theory a lot more than I thought I would and was probably my second favourite module this year. Riemannian geometry was also really good, especially since the lecturer was lovely!

5. Are there areas of math that you enjoy? What are they?

Topology first and foremost! I'm quite interested in differential topology and homotopy theory at the moment. The former is what my dissertation is about and there are things I'd like to read more about relating to it! Homotopy theory is more of a curiosity since I've not had much chance to read about it yet but that's one of my summer plans!

I also enjoy group theory and homological algebra a lot!

7. What do you like about math?

It's inherent exploratory nature as well as how everything connects. One big thing in maths is we have structures and we see what happens when we play with them or alter them. Another is realising connections between different areas. Like for example, my friend who has the same advisor as me for his diss is writing his about Kähler manifolds and Dolbeault cohomology and there's a proof of the Hodge decomposition theorem (I think that's the theorem) that involves the representation theory of sl_{2,C} (as in the lie algebra). Like the fact there's a connection at all is really interesting to me. I suppose that relates to my interest in when algebraic structures sort of arise naturally when looking at certain things in topology.

11. Tell me a funny math story.

13. Do you have any stories of Mathematical failure you’d like to share?

My real analysis lecturer was giving an example of a sequence that didn't converge uniformly and I realised how to alter the example slightly to make it converge uniformly. Turns out that was his next example and he was so happy that I'd preempted it that he jokingly proposed to me.

17. Are there any great female Mathematicians (living or dead) you would give a shout-out to?

None that have come to mind, and I've been thinking a while /lh

Emmy Noether is an obvious one but she literally started homology theory as we know it! I think the story is she attended combinatorial topology lectures and realised she could reframe the language of Betti numbers etc in terms of what we know as simplicial homology.

There are a few living female mathematicians I could shout out but it I do not wish to be doxxed.

19. How did you solve it?

I'm not exactly sure what this question is referring to so I will just give one piece of advise for solving problems. Sometimes a problem is hard because you just haven't had enough experience to solve it yet. Obviously this is isn't helpful is you're trying to solve a homework/exam problem but more generally about learning mathematics. Sometimes you haven't got the tools or the experience to think about it in the right way and that's okay. And the best part about it is that one day you'll come back to the problem and realise that it's easy/easier for you to solve. I think everyone studying maths would benefit from being able to experience this once in a while because it serves as an excellent reminder that you're growing as a mathematician.

23. Will P=NP? Why or why not?

Probably not, though I'm not well-versed enough in it that I could recall well the explanations given for why people think not.

29. You’re at the club and Grigori Perlman brushes his gorgeous locks of hair to the side and then proves your girl’s conjecture. WYD?

Asking him to join the polycule obviously

31. Can you share a math pickup line?

This one is courtesy of me in first year: Are you a subset of a vector space whose elements are of the form ax+b because you're looking (af)fine

37. Have you ever used math in a novel or entertaining way?

Certainly not novel but I have dabbled in how train timetabling works a bit because I have what is essentially a model railway in (heavily modded) Minecraft!

41. What’s the silliest Mathematical mistake you’ve ever made?

I remember in secondary school we did these tests every so often that tested your "essential mathematical skills". I once made the very silly error of writing 3×8=18. Perhaps not the silliest mistake ever but it's one that's stuck with me

43. Did you ever fail a math class?

Not as of yet

47. Just how big is a big number?

As my friend would say: at least 3

53. Do you collect anything that is math-related?

Currently only textbooks, of which I have quite a few now!

59. Can you reccomend any online resources for math?

For algebraic topology I can recommend Friedl's lecture notes. It's a massive several thousand pages. I have currently only used it as a reference document/supplementary material. But from what I've used of it it's clearly written (though trying to use the search function is an uphill battle with how large the document is)

61. Does 6 really *deserve* to be called a perfect number? What the h*ck did it ever do?

It's perfect insofar as its equal to the sum of its proper divisors but it's certainly not free of sin

67. Do you have any math tatoos?

The statement "every tattoo that I have is a maths tattoo" is vacuously true.

71. 👀

👀

73. Can you program? What languages do you know?

Yes but I am very rusty. I used to know java decently well and I knew a bit of python. But I'd probably have to refresh myself a bit before being able to program again

Thanks for the ask!!

[cryptidsurveys]

Wednesday, September 11th, 2024.

Which fictional character can you not stand? There aren't any that I can't stand. I can't even think of a character that just really annoys me. I mean, some can be annoying (or snooty, manipulative, backstabbing, or whatever), but in the context of the story, it's fine.

What was the one subject in school that frustrated you because you just couldn’t process it? Math. I was okay at Algebra and Geometry, but once I reached Algebra II/Trig, my understanding of core concepts wasn't strong enough to carry me any further.

What’s the weirdest compliment you’ve ever gotten? I don't think I've ever received an especially weird compliment.

What is an occupation that you would like to do just for one day if you had the chance? I wouldn't want to actually do the job, but I think it would be interesting to shadow someone in nursing. I've just heard so many horror stories that it's become like a morbid fascination.

What do you think people have an unnecessary stick up their ass about? Anything and everything. Pretty much whatever subject you look into, there will be someone there with a stick up their ass about something.

What common advice do you think never works? Idk but lately I've felt stuck between "just ignore it" and "speak up." Neither option has produced satisfactory results so far, so maybe it's time to break out of the binary and try something completely chaotic and unexpected. ;D

What’s the best movie without a happy ending? I'm not sure.

What is something you think is actually better about today’s generation? This obviously isn't true everywhere, but overall living conditions, medical and technological advancements, transportation, access to information and communication, etc. Some of those things can be a double-edged sword or have certain pitfalls, but you know. Probably better than being a peasant in the Dark Ages. But if we're talking about people specifically, then…hmm. People are people wherever you go.

What movie has a worse love story than Twilight? I'm not much of a movie watcher, but I'm sure there are far worse love stories than Twilight.

What seems obvious to you that doesn’t seem to be for other people? That "the government" isn't hiding any aliens.

If your partner in the zombie apocalypse was the main character of the last movie you watched, would you survive? The last movie I watched was Inside Out 2, so unless the little emotion avatars in that teen girl's head can pull some seriously lucky levers, we're fvcked.

What’s the worst episode of your favorite TV show? I don't have a favorite TV show.

You can pick two artists to do a song together, dead or alive, but they have to be from different genres. Who do you pick and why? I can't think of any particular artists, but as far as genres go, maybe some heavenly and numinous choir music merged with some dark and gritty rap/hip-hop. It has potential okay!!!

What is something you would never buy again, even if you were rich? A house (or cabin or apartment or whatever) with carpet. If I could live somewhere with exclusively wood or tiled flooring, I would be so happy. Carpets are just gross.

What do you do regularly despite it being considered very unhealthy or unsafe? Smoke cigarettes.

What is something that most people find attractive in a person that you find unattractive? I can't think of anything that I find unattractive, but there are common beauty standards that are just like…eh. They don't do it for me.

Do you ever use facial masks or scrubs? I've used facial masks a few times. I don't think I've ever used a scrub, though.

What do you think of the recent trend of adult coloring books? I don't have an opinion regarding the trend as a whole. They're nice as a concept and I do own a couple of them, but I just don't have the patience.

Which fictional character do you think you’d be great friends with? I have no idea.

What would you do if you found out your toys came to life similar to Toy Story? Probably go through something like the 5 Stages of Grief, but with way more emotions. Fear, horror, sadness, guilt, embarrassment, confusion…

Do you own any cook books? We have quite a few. But do I ever use them? No.

Is there anything that you’d like to eat right now? I'm not all that hungry, but cashew chicken, fried rice, and cream cheese wontons sounds good.

What book are you currently reading? A Short History Of The World by H. G. Wells.

What is something that you believe in, but aren’t very outspoken about? I'm not very outspoken about any of my beliefs. I'm just not an openly opinionated person. I like to feel people out before getting into any kind of discussion because I'm not someone who enjoys confrontation or debate.

do you think weird it’s for someone to have never tried soda? I guess it would depend on where they lived. If they were in the US, then I would think it was…if not weird, then highly uncommon.

is there any foreign film you recommend? Naw.

do you have the same religious beliefs as your parents? There are definitely some overlaps. My dad is Jewish and my mom is what I would call casually spiritual. If you made a Venn Diagram of their truest beliefs, then I would probably fall somewhere in the middle. Then there are my own interpretations and understandings which expand into territory beyond either one of them. Overall, though, I think I have more in common with my dad because he's a deep diver within his own religion, and religion and spirituality are topics that interest me. We can have some really great discussions on the matter.

which floor of your house/building are you on now? I'm on the second floor.

are there any maps hanging in your room? No.

are you often a third wheel? or is someone a third wheel to you? I felt like that for the longest time at the animal shelter. I knew people generally liked and appreciated me, but I wasn't really fitting in. However, I don't feel that way as much now, not with the new batch of workers back in cattery. I'm still kind of third-wheely (because I'm shy/socially awkward and also a good deal older than they are), but not to the same drastic extent. I feel much more included, relevant, and free to be my silly and sarcastic self. I had it in my head that the problem might be me (and admittedly, some of it probably was and I do still have some work to do), but now it's like…oh. I was likeable the whole time?!?!

what’s the last dvd you bought? I'm not sure.

tell me about your favorite pair of jeans. I don't have a favorite pair of jeans. I basically don't even wear them anymore.

would you ride a motorcycle if given the chance? (or have you?) I've been on the back of one a few times, but I don't think I would like to ride one myself. Driving a car is enough responsibility for me.

is your hair healthy? Ehhh.

if a hotel offered free breakfast in bed, what would you order? I'd go all out. Pancakes, bacon, eggs, biscuits, maybe some fruit, coffee…

how often do you take a train? Aside from the kiddie train at the city park, I don't think I've ever been on a train. I might have gone on the one at the Royal Gorge, but I can't be certain that's a real memory and not some false recollection I settled on after the fact.

what’s your favorite led zeppelin song? Kashmir.

does your home have a balcony/deck/porch? We have a back deck and a front porch.

what does your closet/wardrobe say about you? That I spend a lot of time at an animal shelter. Probably half of my shit is animal shelter shit.

do you enjoy theatre? I don't not enjoy it. It's just not really my thing. I wouldn't want to be in a play, but I would probably go see one with someone if they wanted me to.

how would you feel about traveling abroad alone? Scared, unprepared, inexperienced, lonely, bored…like I had so much to share and no one to share it with. I'd much rather travel with someone.

who would you call a lyrical genius? Idk.

how do you treat yourself? It's time to make dinner, so I'm going to pause this here (9.10.24) and resume it sometime tomorrow… Okay. I just arrived home from a trip to the Mountain Park - which is one of the ways I plan on treating myself this autumn. I feel like I've spread myself too thin with volunteering, so I'm going to take a step back, take an extra day off here and there, and spend more time in the mountains with my dad. Other ways I treat myself include eating fun/favorite foods (so excited for holiday treats!), making time for art, and curling up in bed with my kitties and some YouTube.

do you have an interesting passport? I don't have a passport.

are you going to pursue a career according to what you enjoy? Yeah.

what’s your favorite frozen treat? Ice cream. You know what else I've been enjoying lately? Otter Pops. They're not typically something I would think to eat, but they're great for hot afternoons at the shelter when I need a quick chill out/sugar rush combo.

who supports you financially? Social security and my dad. We share our incomes.

if you wanted to go to the movie cinema, how would you get there? I would drive (or be driven).

how many pillows are on your bed? Two regular pillows, three body pillows, and two decorative pillows.

would you pay more for organic food? I might if I preferred the taste of a certain brand, but otherwise it's not something I pay much attention to.

do you prefer being awake after everyone goes to bed or before they get up? I don't really have a preference.

do you know much about feng shui? (do you use it?) I know very little, and no, I don't use it.

how would you make friends in a quiet class? Make meaningful eye contact? Lmao heck if I know. I'm quiet myself, so if other people are quiet, then it's just gonna be quiet.

are you generally a quick learner? Yeah.

what’s your favorite spot to read? At my computer desk.

did you know that buddha is not considered a god to buddhists? I was aware of that.

do you save tickets from movies, etc.? Not really.

without looking him up, who was jim morrison? The vocalist for The Doors.

when’s the last time your bedroom was painted/wallpapered? Gosh, idk. As far as painting goes, that would have been years and years ago. It wasn't even finished. As for the wallpaper, that was put up before we moved in.

teach me something in another language. Naw.

what type of music do you like and why? I've developed a fondness for classical over the past couple of years.

if you randomly want to eat something in the house, do you eat it or wait? It depends on what it is, what I've already eaten, how close it is to meal/snack time, etc.

who knows the most about you (besides yourself)? My dad.

do you have a nervous habit? (e.g. biting nails, tapping feet, smoking) Picking at my nails.

how’s your favorite pro sports team doing lately? I don't follow any sports teams.

would you be/are you a good role model to a younger sibling? No.