Sunday, March 27, 2011

Figurine Mystery


Usually find them after rain.
Sometimes it's St. Francis.
This time, Buddha.
Once it was a rubber Yoda.
An algorithm reveals a surd.
A human considers God.

In an infinite set
Are as many of one sort
Of thing as of all sorts.
Impossible to imagine one's
Place completely, but we
Are at least included --
Preferable to a finite set
In which we are not.

Because I don't ask,
I don't know who sneaks
These little goobers in,
But they remind me
God is an infinite set.
So our ignorance of ourselves
Is a pretty good sign.
I'm waiting for a
Foot-high Einstein.

4 comments:

  1. This well evokes the eternally infinite (Is that redundant?) nature of existence-as-it-is. It also led me to look up surd (again), and I liked best what I found in part of the Wikipedia article on the topic: "The term surd traces back to al-Khwārizmī (c. 825), who referred to rational and irrational numbers as audible and inaudible, respectively. This later led to the Arabic asamm (deaf, dumb) for irrational number being translated as surdus (deaf or mute) into Latin. Gherardo of Cremona (c. 1150), Fibonacci (1202) and then Robert Recorde (1551) all used the term to refer to unresolved irrational roots." All of which kept me thinking of you and what good company you're in!

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  2. Thanks Will! "Unresolved irrational roots" is what I have most in common with my garden.

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  3. I think I'll design the foot high Einstein yard ornament. I have so many pics of him in my surroundings...maybe the one with his tongue sticking out. Awesome poem Geo and I love your and Norma's little garden o'eden.

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  4. Thanks Annie B. I hope you post a picture if you create this ornament! But that wonderful image of Einstein with his tongue out might be more profitably sold to the Pez people. Is there an Einstein Pez dispenser?

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