GoodReads

C's bookshelf: read

The Peculiar
Maggot Moon
Chime
Leviathan
The City and the City
Graceling
The Road
A Certain Slant of Light
The Muses Among Us: Eloquent Listening and Other Pleasures of the Writer's Craft
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
Brown Girl in the Ring
Well Wished
The Innkeeper's Song
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
Beloved
American Indian Myths and Legends
The Left Hand of Darkness
The Return of the King
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers


C S Peterson's favorite books »

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

A Slice of Pi

Yesterday was Pi day, you know March 14 (3.14).  Well at our school we don’t have math on Mondays so we are celebrating today.  But today I am attuned to all things circular.  



Thinking about this relationship between the radius of each circle and its circumference enlarges the mystery of the world as I walk through it.  I am surrounded by infinity invisibly enclosed in every finite ring, ball, clock, orange, drawer pull…it is so common. An infinity that is common, concrete, touchable yet still invisible and unreachable, what a wonder.  I can even draw one with my pencil, doodle little circles and bubbles all over my planner.  And then my mind wanders to the circles I draw around myself, including and excluding.  Infinity becomes warm and confining at the same time.  I think about one of my favorite quotes:

            “Beware of the power of circles. 
             If you want to destroy something in this life, 
             be it a blemish or a human soul, all you
             need to do is surround it with thick walls.  
             It will dry up inside.”
                               - Elif Shafak

5 comments:

  1. Well, I first put your quote on my sticky note/quote collection on my desk top. I've never heard it before. It's a wonderful set of words to live by. And I love the way you continually connect things, circling around until we are given the main point of PI day, at least this time. You make me think.

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  2. The quote certainly makes me think. It makes me consider the circles I draw around myself, but even more, the ones I attempt to draw around my children.

    Thank you for the really intriguing ideas!

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  3. Wow, well said. The quote definitely threads your blog together along with your connections of circles and how they are ever present in our daily lives. As Stephanie said, it challenges me to consider the circles I have placed around myself, and perhaps the circles I have placed around others, attempting to keep them at bay for one reason or another.

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  4. What??? Have just the Pi day come and then gone?

    I think I have missed it. Not compleately but I didn't realized yesterday was the Pi day. I was too busy at school talking about pragmatics and linguistics in general...
    I'd better point out I was studing Math and Physics last year... Now I am in the Edcational field. Have a nice day.

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  5. Great quote. I don’t know if you’re aware of but there’s awesome site for collecting and sharing quotes: http://quotista.com

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