Riddle me This

Riddle me This

 

 

 

16 mathematicians in a wind tunnel

trying to figure out velocity

 

1 English professor 

walks to the podium

recites T.S. Eliot's "Wasteland" in iambic beat

 

mathematicians fall asleep

blown over by a poet's breath

poem concludes

wind desists

 

velocity nil

a classic conundrum

solved.

 

 

 

erin-cilberto

3/8/2020

Reviews

[Poetic Beauty]

Love the comparison between math and poetry.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Poetic Beauty...i am only good at one of these two...but still trying to figure out which one.
appreciate your visit,
j.

[Poetic Beauty]

I will say I am definitely no mathematical wizard muself

[Betty Hermelee]

There is some relationship between math and prose, but in this instance T.S. Elliott seems to to win in a truly aesthetic poem; here it seems as if poetry wins over science. I love the flow of this piece. YAY Jacob!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, Betty...
j.

[andrew mitchell]

I think I am having a convolution from this.:-) Mathematically you can't mix with words.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, andrew,
j.

[Lorry]

We do have a way of over-complicating things in the hope people will see how clever we think we are, but by weI mean men and i am sadly guilty of being one of them, so will use more words than is required to point out how clever this really is (well, it is), whereas while us men would be arguing about the best way to accurately define velocity, a woman most likely invent the anemometer, while arranging the entire staffs rota for the month and reading cosmo while ordering her online shopping, wishing coronavirus would wipe out the men telling fart jokes.
And yes, i had to google that anna mometer, clever lady is she 😀
By the way, how many amoeba does it take to change a lightbulb?
One, no two, no four, no eight, no sixteen, no thirtytwo....

[jacob erin-cilberto]

this is a terrific review...made me smile....
you expanded the poem...thank you,
j.

[Ted Kniffen]

16 mathematicians couldn't 'figure' this out...maybe should have played them 'teenage wasteland'.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

"out here in the fields, i fought for my meals' and put my back into my living"
you know, maybe i should have...played that.
j.

[Eilis]

I read this when it was posted and loved it instantly. It has the elusive heart of Eliot’s work within (the riddle) but doesn’t seek the exclusion that I believe he did. In his own way.

It is as though our answers are simple or we believe them to be, but we complicate so many things with the mass storage trunks of our brains. Is it a need to be first or original—the originator of solution. Or the unwillingness to accept the duality of answers.

Can the creative (the heart) solve the riddles of nature and creation. In some ways I think so. But also, the more rational, empirical approach can puncture the darkness in its own way. I feel like your poem is asking the two extremes to meet. And look at each other; see what happens.

Could shake the foundations. As Eliot himself did at a point. Along with Einstein. The meeting of minds could bring great things.

This is a really cool poem, Jacob.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i really like where you took this...and that collision of creative and rational. I appreciate your elaborate thoughts on my works...you delve deeply and show me things i didn't even realize i was thinking when i wrote them.
j.

[iceintheattic]

I simply love the beat to this, somewhat -- I think not of Eliot but of how the math itself will solve itself while trying to appear as dapper as English -

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, ice,
j.

[iceintheattic]

You are welcome - Dolly :)

[.]

And an exceptional poetic riddle, too, J!. You are indeed correct, as anyone who has read Eliot's masterpiece in its true beat can attest; the continuous flow of the poem, with its smattering of rhymes and rhythm, certainly takes the breath away from the reader, it reads like a whirlwind when recited correctly. No wonder the Mathematician's were blown away. It's an exceptional piece of modernist work and a landmark of all time. I appreciate the thought here and its slightly abstract nature that you have put into this poem. Very clever writing, J. Much enjoyed! :))

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your most interesting response, Jamila...yes, too bad some won't tackle Eliot's poem...i usually feel less is more...well almost always....but was forced to read that poem in college...and lo and behold...liked a lot of it.
j.

[kentuck14]

Wow! A real teaser . . . . Are these kinds of experiments going on in Carbondale!? All the wind that flows from poetry stays within the mind. Technocrats do not understand the soul or care about the storms that blow within it. Interesting work!
T

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, they are...but to a limited crowd...some poets here...we tend to find each other. I think more mathematicians ....
j.