Division by Zero

The idea of splitting up a number into smaller parts
Analogy for division, working well in practical ways
Runs into problems with that integer between -1 and 1
Hyperbolas show us some insight into limits of 1/x
Left-hand limit as it gets closer to zero
And right-hand limit too, no agreement, no cooperation
Alas, we are left with inconsistencies
Two trains travelling in opposing directions, never to meet again
I ask my friend to shed some light
"Is it possible to divide something by nothing?"
His response: ERROR.

This poem was created with some inspiration from the 4 minute free-write sessions in class: one on divide and one on zero. After the free-write, I examined all the words written down and wrote this poem. Granted, many of the ideas in the poem were not in my free-write verbatim but I found inspiration in those words. One of the strengths of doing this free-write and poem are that one does not need to be an expert in math to be able to create a poem. Anyone can create the poem from whatever knowledge they have on the topic. Another strength is that it could let the instructor assess how students address a particular subject. If professional terminology is used, then maybe the student understands the importance of that terminology.

Some of the weaknesses of this process is that it is too broad. Students might be like me and write about anything that comes to mind but the content might not even be related to the subject, leading to distract the student from the task-at-hand. Students may conjure up words (like I did) that are completely unrelated and that does not help in understanding some aspect of the topic. Another small weakness in this exercise is that students who like math but not poetry may be thrown off the activity.

Something interesting that I found from the activity were the integration of an extremely academic subject like Math with a subject with openness and fluidity like English. I ended up writing some very un-Math-related things but it was very fun and allowed me the opportunity to write poetry, something that I have not done in a long time. (Aside: Actually, the last time I wrote a poem was for my Materials Chemistry course CHEM 427. I wrote 3 poems about 3 famous Materials Chemists.)