Mathematics from Genesis to Revelation

1:33 PM - Nov. 28, 2005 - Add to the Wildness

We had some good schooling this morning, talking about math and math principles and what it teaches us about the world. But it didn't start that way.  It started out cranky and inattentive, but then I stopped for a minute to pray (which I forgot to do first, and I know that’s the whole difference between a useless day and a lifetime lesson).

We talked about hard facts – how math can be verified by picking up two objects here, two objects there, and yes, that makes four. Not five or three.  Then, suddenly, we’d gone from looking at fractions to talking about the Grand Unified Theory of Physics and gravity and four-note perfect chords (three-in-one plus one concepts). I told them to look for that pattern in the world, and see if it’s there, because I haven’t checked it out. David and I have had this conversation: A perfect chord contain only three different notes, but yet it contains a total of four notes. It is only a perfect chord when the fourth voice is in unison with one of the first three. God is the three-in-one. I asked them who the fourth voice is. Someone said, "Satan." Someone said "Angels." Someone said "us." I wrote on the chalkboard, joint heirs with Christ, and below that, members of His body.  We took a moment to reflect on the glory of His grace, that we are the only created being to be given such privilege.

We talked about the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics. "Maximum order tends to maximum disorder" made perfect sense to them in terms of cleaning their rooms. We talked about how cleaning your room doesn’t mean you’ve negated the 2nd Law – it’s still functioning under the surface in the daily aging of the house and the fact that the toys themselves aren’t getting stronger and better. So when evolutionists claim they’ve run experiments that reverse the 2^nd Law, always check whether it’s just a surface impression of the data.

We had a big discussion about how the Curse and the 2nd Law relate to each other, and whether you can prove that the 2nd Law is the Genesis Curse or not, adding Hebrews 1:3 into the dialogue. Did God institute the 2^nd Law at the Fall, or did He simply stop perfectly upholding the universe? The nine-year-old said, "But we weren’t there." Exactly. We talked about how some would say that if God’s not upholding the universe perfectly, the He’s doing something imperfectly, and then how is He a perfect God? Well. Would it be perfect love to force Adam and Eve to live forever as sinners? What about forcing the whole world to go on forever as it is, under the Curse? That is what wouldn’t be a perfect God.  And we concluded that it’s a fascinating area of exploration and observation.

We looked at cross-multiplying fractions to find common denominators, just as a glimpse, and I just used it as an example of why they need to get good at all four basic operations. Then we talked about how, by the end of high school, they should at least be able to describe a line in math language – and from there, how math can be used to describe the universe. I told them how you can even use math to describe curves and sound waves.

Then we went back to simple length-times-width equations, with a twist. We found out that the principle of multiplication allows us to find the total number of objects within several equal groups. We can then use that total number to divide things into different groupings. For example, suppose we made up four Operation Christmas Child boxes, and each one had three toy balls in them. Then we decided that we would rather send six Christmas Child boxes the next year. How would we find out whether we could use the same number of balls and spread them out fairly amongst the boxes?

We tried to find out how many inches long a 16-foot board is. It was complicated and difficult, using mental tricks to do 12x12 plus 12x4. Then I showed them how much easier long multiplication is. They did one in their books while I did it on the board. Then I wrote out two four-digit numbers and asked them whether that could be done without a calculator. "How would Jesus figure that out?... Okay… He’s God… How would John the Baptist figure that out? How would Adam figure that out?" Then I solved it on the board as fast as I could. It was 17 million and something! How exciting!

We finished off by talking about how the Internet and computers have removed concrete thought from our culture. Computers do our math for us, so we forget the principles of concrete evidence. The Internet replaces concrete experience. So if we hear that there’s a war in Africa, and the Muslims are supposedly killing the Christians, and the American government is supposedly funding the Muslims because they want the Muslims to also get rid of the leader of that country and they don’t care about the Christians… How do we know it’s true? Where are the concrete facts? Anna said, "Well, you could go and see." We agreed that we wouldn’t really want to go and see the bullets flying at our heads. Also, it would be hard to know what to believe when many people would have different stories about what was going on. The conclusion was that a lot of times, people prefer a world they don’t have to touch. We talked about how easy this makes it for people to believe lies. There are no concrete facts in a virtual world. This will make it very easy for Satan, the father of lies, to set up a kingdom of lies during the tribulation period.  Application:  Learn your math.  Never stop using it for real-life things.  Hang on to the principles of logic and thought revealed by the "language of the universe."  Math is a "non-theological" discipline to which we can turn for foundational concepts that lead us straight back to a God of order and design.

Then we went back to two-plus-two. I said, "Well, I think it’s 10. What do you think it is, Peter?"

Anna grabbed four squares of the little kids’ styrofoam letter set and said, "No, it’s four, see?"

I said, "No, it’s not. It’s eight."

She thought about that, and then realized I said that because the letters were in the foam squares. She quickly said, "I’m using the whole thing as one." Peter then suggested we could also just get rid of the letter, or the square it fits into. So we learned another lesson, drawn from the world of math, but applicable to debate, theological discussion, and street witnessing: Always define your terms. Whether it’s math variables, "truth," "perfection," or whatever.

It was a cool morning, highly interactive, with a lot of things thrown in because I could see them stagnating over the raw numbers.  Somehow, accidentally, we got from Genesis to Revelation in our applications.  I didn't plan it that way.  I didn't plan anything today.  I just got up knowing I needed to work at the chalkboard with the older two. 

The final lesson we shared was:  That's what comes of asking God to step in and take over in the middle of frustration.

N.B.:  Our two older kids are just completing the concepts, if not the curricular assignments, of Math-U-See Firm Foundations (approximately equivalent to the new curriculum's Gamma level), with a heavy emphasis on place value and concrete, "touchable" principles.  The place-value approach completely revolutionized my adult understanding of math, and I highly recommend investigating this teaching method.

Ummm....

Can I be a student in your homeschool? I am absolutely no good at math! I've been looking at Math-U-See and wondering how good it was and if my children would benefit from yet another program. I'm glad you had sucha productive day!

Blessings!

sagerats - 4:48 PM - Nov. 28, 2005

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Just wondering how you're doing. Hope all is well.

Abiding in the Vine!

sagerats - 5:19 PM - Jan. 11, 2006

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Thanks for stopping by

my blog. I was rereading some comments and found yours in my "Pardon me While I Talk to Myself" entry. I hope all is well with you and your family. It took me a while to get back to blogging after the holidays. Just so much going on!

JoAnn

readingmama - 4:48 PM - Jan. 16, 2006

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