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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 16, 2005)
Tlackamas Print Commentary 3 Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2005 student Our most pointless debate Poll Our writers face off on the question of pi vs. pie Vhat do you Forget flavor, pi is look forf far more useful to ward to at humanity lanksgiving? ize that the earliest known written approximation of pi came from an Egyptian scribe, or that a Chinese mathematician calculated pi to the first three decimal points in 263 AD. How many texts concerning pies date from back then? It may sound pompous, but pi’s just more important than baked goods. There’s a reason Martha Stewart never gets research grants, and it’s not for lack of trying. It’s just a sad fact that there hasn’t been a major breakthrough in pie research since the discovery of the “toothpick test” Perhaps most telling, though, is the feet that pi is infinite, while pie is all too fleeting. So forget this Thanksgiving pie nonsense. Rather, focus your thanks on the awesome power of pi because, while your mind will expand by its influence, your waist will not I GJ Ciaramella II Ite Clackamas Print “Dinner with ■& family, all y being in one place at the BM same time, and ■FI cooking with lilial my mother.” Kasey Hall “Football and turkey!” Much attention is paid to pie dur ing the Thanksgiving season; apple pie, pumpkin pie, and all other vari ants. But this is a travesty, for people forget the true and infinitely superior pi. No, not fruit encased in a baked crust I speak of the mathematical constant — the ratio of a circle’s cir- cumpherance to its diameter 3.14 ad infinitum. The list of reasons that pi is more worthy of our adoration than its fruit-filled homonym is almost as long as pi itself but for the sake of brevity, this argument will only touch on a few. First, consider the application of pi. Einstein used it in his field equation of general relativity, it also makes an appearance in Euler’s identity (called by Richard Feynman “the most remarkable formula in mathematics”), which postulates that eAi7t +1=0. Notice that it does not read e'Xapple crisp) +1 = 0. Second, consider the proper ties of pi. It is transcendental, irrational and not constructible. Furthermore, pi is not a physi cal constant and therefore not affected by the shape of the universe, whereas pie will directly affect the shape of your hips. And third, remember that people have been contemplating the mys teries of pi almost as far back into history as we can trace. Few real- Close your math book and give it up for succulent pie . AndyZehrung 11 The Clackamas Print Though it’s a mathematic abnor mality with profound geometric uses, pi is a sad substitute for pie. On a purely physical basis, pie exists and pi doesn’t As warm or cold as one’s preference may dictate, pie can hardly be substituted by a mere numeric representation. The credit for pi’s discovery can only be given to a Greek name forgot ten by history. People gather around at the county lair for a pie contest, not a pi contest People also won’t have their friends asking them how lhey make such a deli cious strawberry pi. Another quality that pi lacks that pie boasts is variability. Though pi has an endlessly changing numeric representa tion, it lacks the ability to change that representation to fit tastes. Fractional or decimal, that’s hardly variety. The different personal touches dif ferent bakers add to make their pies unique makes the variability of pie not only appealing to a laiger variety of people, but its variation is a lot more comprehendible. The importance of pi is irrefut able. However, to non-mathematical persons pi is simply another feet Engineers and math instructors use pi for their career, the rest of the world just knows that the first few digits of pie are 3.14. Since that is as for as ¡1st people’s minds need cany the lumber, everyone else can enjoy pie while they wait for their math ematician friend to calculate the circumference of the pan. Pie is not only a delicious treat we can all enjoy, but it is also a dessert to which the country owes its original settler’s lives too. After all, had it not been for the pump kin pie, the Puritans wouldn’t have had anything to bring to the table. The lack of sweet, delicious pie might have caused the natives to nip the English phenomenon in the bud, spreading te Croatoan phenomenon beyond anoke. Therefore it is to pie, not pi, that ! United States owes its success, ming one’s back on pie would be ison and should be punished by fir ing squad. Besides, people don’t get to see enough firing squads these days. Understanding the reviled midterm move Kimberly Maier Kimmy Carier ||1V I “No school ■■ ) ■ and lots of J a sleep.” Shkurinsky This week's poll compiled by Joe Piazzisi StaH| M H ■I gfi We mistakenly ran the wrong photograph for Ashley Marchi in last week’s student poll. We appologize for the error. The Clackamas Print In the middle of the term, the last thing any student wants is to arrive at class - barely on time - only to discover that the lecture has been moved to another building. Yes, many of us have become victims of the midterm move, and it can be very inconvenient, espe cially if the class has been moved to another area of the campus. The phenomenon of the midterm move is mystifying. It comes with out warning, does not discriminate between departments and is a thorn in the side of every student who plans their class schedule with time and location in mind. But the ques tion remains: why does this occur and how can we avoid it? According to Naomi Sether, Science department secretary, the decision to move classes is some times the instructor’s preference. “Sometimes, the instructor’s pre ferred room is not available at the beginning of the term, so when it does become available, due to low enroll ment, there can be a room change.” Convei sely, when enrollment is too high, the class has to be moved to accommodate more people. Another issue that can cause a class to be moved is the medical con dition of an instructor or student “In the Barlow building, they have the automotive department; certain folks have sensitivities to the fumes,” said Beth Hodgkinson, divi sion secretary for Humanities. “It gives some people headaches.” In addition to instructor’s prefer ence and allergen issues, the college has to be sensitive to the needs of disabled students. Clackamas cur rently employs ‘accommodation specialists’ who work with students to make sure that all needs are met and a safe environment for learning is provided. “It would be awful if you have a disability and can’t make it to class. We try to be aware of the stu dents’ feelings and make the transi tion as smooth as possible,” stated Hodgkinson. Division secretaries are respon sible for arranging classroom changes. But before you go out on C o -E ditors - in -C hief : Ben Maras, Clackamas Print James Tombe C opy E ditors : Katie Weinberg, E. E. 19600 S. Molalla Ave. pegon City, OR 97045 1(503) 657-6958 ex. 2309 I *he C uckums ftint is a weekly L student publication and is Fmbuted every Wednesday except finals week. West N ews E ditor : Katie Wilson C ommentary E ditor : Laura Cameron F eature E ditor : C.J. Ciaramella S ports E ditor : N. P. Delzell A&E E ditor : Jadon Triplett P hoto E ditor : Jeff Sorensen A d M anager : Sam Krause A d A ssistant : Megan Cline S taff W riters : Frank Jordan, a secretary witch hunt demanding to know why you must now find a new ‘magic’ seat to sit in during your psych class, keep in mind that the midterm move is most often employed to benefit the students. Letters to the editor I have just read [Elizabeth Hitz’s] thought-provoking editori- al on torture. I would like to point out that a recent article in The Oregonian also dealt with this topic. As a teacher of the English language, I need to make students aware of tire manipulative lan guage involved in definitions of torture. Specifically, I was angry when I read that prisoners of war are considered for torture tech niques just by changing their titles from “prisoner of war” to “enemy combatant” This is manipulative language. It allows the executive branch way too much power in detennining such cases. I noticed in your most recent edition of The Clackamas Print ... the gentleman pictured [on page five] is [not] John Lewis; it is Neil Robbins of Clackamas County Water Environment Services. Other thain that, I enjoyed Megan Koler’s comments and hope that you all con tinue to do a great job on Clackamas Print. Ginny Van Loo Member, Clackamas Com munity College Budget Committee Diane Averill English Instructor P roduction A ssistants : Megan Koler, Tayo Stalnaker, Kyle Steele, Jesse Arguello Matthew Olson, Tayo" Stalnaker, Courtney CXByme, Mike Giùdice, Jimi McDonnell, Gabe Stone, Joe P hotographers : Andy Zehrung Piazzisi, Megan Koler, Kimberly D epartment A dvisor : Linda Vogt Maier, Elizabeth Hitz, Adam J. D epartment A ssistant : Pat Lichen Manley G oals : The C lackamas Print aims to report the news in an honest, unbiased, professional manner. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the stu dent body college administration, its faculty or The Print. 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