Wáwòyí had been defeated. They say that Life is mysterious and that she chooses to bless and curse on a whim. For the entirety of Wáwòyí’s life, he had only experienced curses. From birth he had been unfortunate; to bring him into this world, his mother had sacrificed her life. If Life was kind, she would have made him a …
A Personal Letter
Dear Vabereke (Elders), I am certain that I do not have to introduce myself, but I feel some formalities may be in order. I am you, all together in one form, I am Zimbabwe, but I was known by other names in your time and the time before. I must acknowledge our family ancestors, tribal ancestors, and national ancestors of …
I Have Heard Many Things About You
This grief is limitless. She sees it extending endlessly into her future, she recognises it in her past. There’s a sadness she used to find impossible to explain, but now she recognizes it as this very grief. It is out of her control, a force from within that has formed into a partner she finds herself in some sick marriage …
Reversing How We Gaze at Islamic Art
Enter any Muslim household regardless of nationality, and you are bound to come across some representation of Islamic art. Maybe Turkish biomorphic motifs inspired by flowers on a Turkish vase in a kitchen, Moorish tessellations on ceramics varied in geometric patterns and colors in a washroom, or South and Southeast Asian symmetrical wooden Jali carvings on furniture or window screens …
Let’s Destroy the Mechanical Model
In the beginning, God made Adam, then from his rib Eve, and after a couple of sins, humanity arrived at the ineffable truth that 1+1 = 2, that there is such thing as “zero”, and we no longer needed God, for we had Math, the absolute authority on “fact” and correspondingly, our reality. To my mother’s great dismay, however, I …
On Mathematics
In stacks of one-dirham notebooks with plastic covers, Haboba keeps track of things. Accompanied by a classic CASIO calculator, scrap paper from knitting print-outs and a pen, she documents anything that can be quantified. She has kept track of her life as our family expanded in numbers and scattered across countries. At some point, the calculator became redundant. She says …
ETHNOMATHEMATICS: THE AESTHETICS & SUBJECTIVENESS OF MATHEMATICS
For centuries, Africans have used patterns, discovering and manipulating geometric concepts to make them symbolic systems. So, mathematics wasn’t far from being a language. They transformed abstractions into knowledge. Ideas from their human minds were then communicated in a highly artistic manner. The significant geometric patterns are visible on decorations covering architectural styles: buildings, traditional monuments, and temples.
can i complain about math real quick ?
It’s 2016, and I’ve been swindled into a math competition. I’ve always been “good” at math. The monotony of it suited me; the rote memorization of formulae and obvious pattern recognition, while anxiety- inducing in others, came to me instantly. It also meant that, once I understood something, I also didn’t care to spend an hour and a half doing …
The Revolution Will Not Be Engineered
I wonder. What purpose would I serve if I had a different religion, and if I wasn’t forced to practice the one I do? Right about now, you’re wondering too: which religion is he talking about? Is it mine? Am I forced too?! Or maybe you’re not anxious, and you’re just going to keep on reading to find out. Go …
