ROMAN NUMERALS

My short LoveMaths text this time is about Roman numerals. Roman numerals are very interesting for many historical and cultural reasons and it is not fair that they have a limited use and are almost forgotten. Roman Numerals are the numbers that ancient Romans used. This is just a short reminder about these beautiful numerals, which are still very much alive in some occasions although with some limited and more specific uses. One of the greatest disadvantages is that they form a very big chain of letters.

Rome was the capital of the expansive Roman empire which encompassed almost the entire continent of Europe, along with Mediterranean territories in Asia and Africa. The Roman empire was one of the most powerful empires of the ancient world. Historians believe that the earliest Roman settlements began in 753 BC. The Roman Empire was divided into the Western Empire and the Eastern Empire. Its glory was at its peak in 200 AD, and the entire empire spanned over an area of 2.5 million square miles. Romans will forever be remembered as inventors and establishers: inventors of a modern form of administration and establishers of a number of science and engineering practices which had been around, but were ushered in for daily use by them. The Romans were extremely innovative builders and engineers (they invented the aqueducts, the paved roads, and the construction of the drains). Architecture, Science, Popular culture, Law and Governance, Arts and Literature - all this was highly developed in ancient Rome. Did you know that the Romans founded even London? They had named it ‘Londinium’.

 Romans even invented their own numeral system based on the symbols of Latin letters. We call these numerals Roman numerals. It was the main way of writing numbers in the whole European continent until the Late Middle Ages. Numbers in this system are represented by combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet. There are main seven symbols, each with a fixed integer value:

Symbol: I, V, X, L, C, D, M,

Value: 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, 1000

That means: I=1, V=5, X=10, L=50, D=500, M=1000.

TREE

(Blenda studio)

(a poem by 11 years old Emma)

Once upon a time,

A little tiny acorn,

Passed on the wind,

And past the mouths of many squirrels.

The adventure of a lifetime,

Until it stops,

And there is only darkness,

Buried under heaps of soil,

And there is nothing left to do,

But sit and wait.

After what seemed like a hundred years,

Something soft and warm picks it up,

Cradles it,

Up, into the sunlight,

A brief moment of freedom.

A moment that doesn't last.

It is hidden away,

Under more moist soil.

The little seedling grows,

MATHS IN DAILY LIFE

Mathematics is the universal language of our environment, helping people to explain and create. When am I ever going to use maths? Students often wonder if, when, and how they will ever use maths in "real life" situations. The truth is that we use maths all the time!

But how well do we know and how well do we remember the mathematical language? Let us try to answer this question. If we know the mathematical language relatively well do we use it in our everyday real life? Everybody in their daily life uses mathematical languages to some extent. Often we are so used to this language that we don’t even think that we should be grateful to mathematics for developing its symbolic language which serves us in so many ways. Let us try to remember and summarise some of the applications of Maths which we all use without being mathematicians. The mathematical language is part of human civilization, in fact, it helped a lot to shape human civilisation and culture.

Maths isn’t confined to abstract incidents that never occur in real life, but rather touches everything we do—the whole world is mirrored through with it. Maths allows us to see the hidden structures underneath the chaotic surface of our world. With the tools of mathematics in hand, you can understand the world in a deeper, more meaningful way.

Let us mention some of the mathematical applications which for sure everybody uses in his daily life.

Managing Money and family budgets, Shopping for the best price:

We live in a consumer society and everyday in shops we have to solve the dilemma - which product gives us the best money for value? That means which product is the cheapest. Unfortunately, maybe not everybody in the shop would be able to decide which product is best to buy. In shops there are very often discounts. It is a useful skill to be able to calculate how much money you need to pay.

Yes, money is the thing that causes so many problems in the world, or it will be precise to say, not money itself, but the human desire to possess more and more money. But with money we can do so many good things, which could be for everybody to use. We count money, we add, subtract, multiply and divide money. We dream about money. We try to detach ourselves from the power of the metal so we can concentrate more on the spiritual part of life. Sometimes it is easier to achieve this but sometimes it is so hard. It is an internal battle.

INFINITY

The purpose of my texts  is not to try to say everything about the topic, not at all, mainly because this is not possible. Even a book, for example, about Infinity will not be able to say everything, in a book you always choose what to present and what to leave for the next book. My main purpose is to make you think not only about the specific topic but to try to find the connection between everything in real life, where there are no limitations and borders of our imagination and knowledge. So let’s challenge ourselves, this is the only way to develop ourselves more and more. There is no limit of development. Remember what I said: Thinking (together with Love) is one of the best joys we can experience. This is actually a good example of Infinity - human curiosity. 

The topic of Infinity is so interesting and bigger that I will need a lot of paper and time to say what  I would like to say about it. Don’t worry, I will try to keep it short. 

Infinity is not really a strictly a Maths topic, although in Maths there are examples of the idea of infinity. Remember, we said that mathematical language reflects real life and the life of nature and tries to find an abstract way with symbols to express it so later we can use its tools to carry on exploring life. It is like a circle. There is no beginning and end, everything is one. The idea of infinity is applied in nature, in human life, in  religion, in human languages (there is vocabulary about infinity), in art, in philosophy, in science and in Maths language as well.

SYMMETRY

Writing about symmetry is a great challenge and a joy at the same time. It is a challenge because it is like the topic of infinity - it is all around us, but it is so profound and deep that there is a great risk that by trying to say something we will not manage to say even a little. I will take this risk mainly because I am not aiming to achieve the impossible thing - to say everything. No, I will need to do a lot of research for that and I will need more knowledge that I don’t have for the moment. I will try to lift the cover of the topic and to make connections, on one hand, with its Mathematical language and how it reflects real-life in order to develop tools for describing and working with symmetry in a more practical way. On the other hand, the mathematical language that we mentioned many times, developed from the people’s practical needs to deal with practical issues so we need to make a connection with other areas.

Symmetry is one of the most fundamental and important ways that nature structures itself. It is one of the laws of nature which we, humans, just copy in our everyday activities. We are naturally attracted to symmetry. When we say the word ‘symmetry’ and ‘symmetrical’ what is the first association that comes to your mind? Is it about something beautiful? What about ‘asymmetrical’? Are your associations rather not very positive? It is not only you, don’t worry. The idea and the principles of symmetry lies in the fundamentals of how we see, perceive and understand the world. Symmetry is what holds different parts of the world together and makes it more pleasing for the eyes. Everything is in a harmonious proportion when it is symmetrical. Nature itself is governed by the idea of symmetry that creates balance not chaos. In many ways symmetry represents order, a beautiful peaceful ordered world. It helps us to make sense of the world around us.

THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE

The language of love is silent.

You're trying to speak to me in your language, but I don't understand you. You make some awkward gestures, trying to show me what your words fail to convey. I am listening to hear, to understand, to feel, to make your awkwardness less, to shorten the distance between us. We speak different languages, but it is the sparkle in our eyes that brings us closer. Desperate that your words do not reach me, you sink in silence and only your eyes look at me intently. They look at me like I'm the one who lights the fire in them. And then I understand everything. And you are so excited that you spontaneously embrace me as a sign of apology and humility. And everything is clear without words. Because you speak the language of love.

But today you are different and I do not understand the language of your silence. Today you are different and you speak to me in the language of indifference. You change every day and I fail to learn your language, to understand your heart and the way it is expressed.

One day you are yourself, and then you dissolve into everything alive and inanimate. I want to learn to understand you, to find you. You want to learn to understand me so you don't lose me.

The language of love is like freedom.

In an instant, I am a light-winged bird that rises to an unprecedented height to absorb the sky inside. And you are there, you are the very infinite sky that comforts me gently in your arms. Immediately afterwards, I am the sand heated by the August sun, which slowly absorbs the water. And you are there, you are the huge wave that brings me back to shore, you are my salvation. And freedom is our language that binds us forever.

HEARTBEAT

(a poem by 11 years old Emma)

Listen to your heartbeat,

The thing that keeps you alive.

One tiny human heartbeat,

One out of seven billion others.

On a tiny overcrowded rock called Earth,

Floating around in the vast expanse of space.

We look up at the stars,

Wonder what might be.

Are we the only ones out there?

Are we really alone in the universe?

Or are there others,

Looking up at the heavens,

At the unexplored planets.

Maybe even at Earth.

ЕЗИКЪТ НА ЛЮБОВТА

Езикът на любовта е мълчалив.

Ти се опитваш да ми говориш на своя език, но аз не те разбирам. Ти правиш някакви жестове конфузни, опитвайки се да ми покажеш това, което думите ти не успяват да предадат. Аз цялата съм слух да те чуя, разбера, усетя, да направя твоето смущение по-малко, да скъся разстоянието помежду ни. Ние говорим на различни езици, но блясъкът в очите ни е, който ни сближава. Отчаян, че думите ти не достигат до мен, ти потъваш в тишина и само очите ти напрегнато ме гледат. Гледат ме така, все едно аз съм онова нещо, което запалва огъня в тях. И тогава аз разбирам всичко. А ти си толкова развълнуван, че спонтанно ме прегръщаш като знак на извинение и смирение. И така всичко е ясно, без думи. Защото ти говориш на езика на любовта.

Но днес ти си различен и аз не разбирам езика на твоето мълчание. Днес ти си различен и ми говориш на езика на безразличието. Ти се променяш всеки ден и аз не успявам да науча твоя език, за да разбирам твоето сърце и начина, по който то се изразява.

Един ден ти си себе си, а след това се разтваряш във всичко живо и неживо. Аз искам да се науча да те разбирам, за да те намеря. Ти искаш да се научиш да ме разбираш, за да не ме изгубиш.

Езикът на любовта е като свободата.

В един миг аз съм птица лекокрила, която се издига на неподозирана висота, за да погълне небето в себе си. И ти си там, ти си самото безкрайно небе, което ме приютява нежно в обятията си.

Веднага след това аз съм пясъкът, нагрят от августовското слънце, което водата поглъща бавно. И ти си там, ти си огромната вълна, която ме връща обратно на брега, ти си моето спасение. И свободата е нашият език, който ни свързва завинаги.

Езикът на любовта е като песен.

THE MAGIC OF FIBONACCI NUMBERS

Let us ask ourselves - why do we learn mathematics? For calculations and  applications. And because of inspiration. The connection of Maths and nature is inspiring and makes us think. Maths teaches us to think. Mathematics  is not just solving for X. It is also finding out how and why. 

 The Fibonacci sequence is one of the most famous formulas in mathematics. It has been part of people's lives for centuries. It proves one more time that we cannot draw a line to separate one knowledge from another and if we do this this is just for some practical reasons like educational subjects and exams. More often we borrow knowledge and theories from different disciplines in order to find better understanding and explanation in our own discipline. 

The Fibonacci numbers are proving that the whole universe is one whole - the space itself, the galaxies, nature and the human knowledge which is trying to understand the bigger picture.  The Fibonacci sequences came to Maths from real life observations and provoked ancient mathematicians to find reasonable and practical explanations to some natural facts which everybody observes. From the Fibonacci sequence we can calculate the Golden Ration and after that the spiral. The spiral design could be seen in the natural world and in the universe. We can see the pattern of the spiral everywhere. The spiral is like a mathematical and spiritual symbol of life energy and of rebirth. It is like the connection that holds everything together. It is like God’s brand that is saying to us that everything - from the huge objects like galaxies to the smallest ones - like fingerprints - have been made following the same design of the spiral. The spiral that keeps everything in the universe connected and in order.  Galaxies have the same spiral shape as so many things in nature. Nature’s design copies the space one. The spiral is a symbol of growth and evolution.

If space-time is shaped as a spiral that explains why the Creator used this great design to form the galaxies and nature in that way. It looks like we do live in a golden ratio divine universe. The galaxies have the same shape as  snail shells, sea shells, sunflowers, fossils, the structure of human lungs, spirals in plants, cabbages, pineapples, strawberry seeds, animal horns, flower petals, pine cones, snakes, embryo, ears, storms, DNA, curly hair, hurricanes, turnados,  tree branches, roots, and even galaxies are spirals.