{"id":32964,"date":"2019-11-13T16:00:55","date_gmt":"2019-11-13T21:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.ams.org\/mathgradblog\/?p=32964"},"modified":"2019-11-13T15:17:17","modified_gmt":"2019-11-13T20:17:17","slug":"crossword-or-diversion-as-a-vehicle-for-conversation-on-power-and-usage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ams.org\/mathgradblog\/2019\/11\/13\/crossword-or-diversion-as-a-vehicle-for-conversation-on-power-and-usage\/","title":{"rendered":"CROSSWORD! (or: Diversion as a vehicle for conversation on power and usage)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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There is so much that is peculiar, irregular, silly, or downright twisted in mathematical verbiage that, certainly, we could all benefit from some soul-searching on the language of our culture. Some of mathematics usage is confusing (e. g. overuse of \u201cnormal\u201d and \u201cregular\u201d) and some irritating (personal peeve: persistent classroom use of \u201cguy\u201d to refer to mathematical expressions – I know anthropomorphization makes things friendly and all, but I\u2019m not sure that thinking of all mathematical objects as \u201cguys\u201d is good for our ongoing gender problem). And then there are other things that just floored me the first time I heard them (um, \u201cclopen,\u201d anyone?), not to mention our obsession\/affliction with eponymy and its discontents. There is a dissertation in linguistic anthropology waiting to be written on mathematical usage, and perhaps several that already have been.<\/p>\n

It would be all well and good to litigate the social and political aspects of mathematical speech, but who really has the time? 1\u00a0 <\/sup>This is a graduate student blog, and, you know, life is already hard enough, so we must have some recreation. Proposed solution: the mathematical crossword puzzle<\/strong><\/a>, or more accurately, crossword puzzle with a strong mathematical bias \u2013 a venue to examine and lightheartedly ponder our field\u2019s history, culture, language and content without needing to delve into heated public debate. On the other hand, maybe the chance for debate is sort of the point. 2\u00a0<\/sup> Entertainment which is presented as critical thinking and that leads to higher-level critical thinking is a high kind of art.<\/p>\n

I suppose, based on my own experience, that many crossword solvers will relate to the experience of hating puzzle-makers for clues that make no sense, are elitist, presume familiarity with arcane or dated bits of culture, etc. To draw a parallel, I submit that this is exactly the sort of experience many students are having in math classes, at any level. That you are the kind of person that is willing to put up with being treated with such pomposity and contempt, until you are suddenly on the other side of this diode-like arrangement, is something one might infer from the fact that you are in mathematics graduate school and reading a math blog to boot, which is to say: I bet the intersection of math-o-philes and cruciverbalists is not so small.<\/p>\n

But! We must do better than our teachers by seeking to not alienate, condescend, and exclude, and in order to get there first we must try. As a long-time-solver-first-time-constructor, let me say the following:<\/p>\n