Topsy Turvy

I used to like math because there was always a definite answer to the sums that I did. QED. It gave me a punctuated sense of accomplishment to see my working build towards a precise conclusion.

In contrast, I liked writing essays and answering comprehension questions in my language papers because of the smoky, amorphous nature of the answers required. I liked that I could bluff my way through any paper and still come out pristine and right in the end.

But in these few years of teaching and sporadic writing, I've come to realise that I was wrong.

Mathematics seems more and more to be about patterns and probability, educated guesses trying to make sense in a chaotic world; while language seems more and more about finding pinpoint accuracy in one's words, to reveal a mind, a heart, a soul.

Funny how perceptions change with age.

Funny how I should be thinking about this near midnight on my mother's birthday.