For the Love of Math and Language

A mathematical limerick by Leigh Mercer - 

To be read as:

A dozen, a gross, and a score
Plus three times the square root of four
Divided by seven
Plus five times eleven
Is nine squared and not a bit more.

Mercer is most well known for creating the classic palindrome “A man, a plan, a canal — Panama!”.

Spotted at Futility Closet.

For the Love of Language and Math - Expanded

[(N + H)ow + (T + W)hat](I know).

How would you expand this expression?

If you think like famous mathematician Norman Anning, you would read it as:

Now I know how I know that I know what I know.

Norman Herbert Anning (August 28, 1883 – May 1, 1963) was a mathematician, assistant Professor, Professor Emeritus, and instructor in mathematics at the University of Michigan from 1920 through his retirement in 1953.

Anning contributed the above “non-commutative soliloquy of an introspective epistemologist” for a 1948 issue of  Scripta Mathematica.

Scripta Mathematica was a quarterly journal published by Yeshiva University devoted to the philosophy, history, and expository treatment of mathematics. It was published from 1933 through 1973.

commutative
adj.1. Relating to, involving, or characterized by substitution, interchange, or exchange. 2. Independent of order. Used of a logical or mathematical operation that combines objects or sets of objects two at a time. If a × b = b × a, the operation indicated by × is commutative.

soliloquy
 n. 1. a. A dramatic or literary form of discourse in which a character talks to himself or herself or reveals his or her thoughts without addressing a listener. b. A specific speech or piece of writing in this form of discourse. 2. The act of speaking to oneself.

introspective
adj. 1. Given to examining own sensory and perceptual experiences.

epistemologist
n. 1. A specialist in epistemology.

epistemology
n. The branch of philosophy that studies the nature of knowledge, its presuppositions and foundations, and its extent and validity.

Definitions via thefreedictionary.com

Thanks to Futility Closet for bringing this soliloquy to my attention.

That is Phonetically (ab)Surd

Just recently I heard the word "surd" for the first time. My initial thought was that it was a slang-like shortening of the word "absurd". How wrong I was.

According to Answers.com, the word "surd" has the following two definitions:
1. Mathematics. An irrational number, such as √2.
2. Linguistics. A voiceless sound in speech.

I am amazed that in all of my linguistics studies and research I have never encountered the word. On the other hand, I guess I shouldn't be that amazed because a google search returns results that primarily pertain to mathematics.

Digging a bit deeper, the Online Etymology Dictionary includes this history:
1551, "irrational" (of numbers), from L. surdus "unheard, silent, dull," possibly related to susurrus "a muttering, whispering" (see susurration). The mathematical sense is from the use of L. surdus to translate Ar. (jadhr) asamm "deaf (root)," itself a loan-translation of Gk. alogos, lit. "speechless, without reason" (Euclid bk. x, Def.). In Fr., sourd remains the principal word for "deaf."

T'resting.

Math Test - Semantics Fail