Stanley Jerry Farlow, the author of numerous mathematics textbooks and short story books, retired from teaching right here at the University of Maine in 2014. A Black Bear myself, I was enthralled when Farlow’s book ‘Residue from 50 Years as a Math Professor’ fell into my lap. There is no genre to attribute this to, nor an easy summary to provide. It is an exciting cluster of a life’s story.
While mathematicians and engineers may have an easier comprehension of this collection of stories and entries, it is still accessible to all. Some pages are short stories, others are historical lessons in his field, or explanations of problems and theories. Though some sections went over my head, a few sent up lightbulbs. Curse you, Farlow, for not being there to explain to me my theoretical geometry class in 10th grade.
Even when I could not completely visualize the problems at hand, I found myself curious and hooked. In the section, ‘The Meaning of Mathematics; Straight from the Horse’s Mouth,’ Farlow writes about his wife having heard him rant about his work when they began dating. She would nod and agree, just to admit into their marriage that she “didn’t know what the hell I [Farlow] was talking about, but was impressed by my [Farlow’s] diligence.” Even at those more difficult passages, I felt similarly.
It is important to note the stigma of mathematics that is also addressed in his writing. Farlow likens it to the ‘piano syndrome’–– one cannot play ‘fun’ pieces until they have put their blood, sweat and tears into the basics. Unfortunately for math and unfortunately for the piano, the basics can be boring, so many quit. Farlow writes bluntly with humor, tearing apart common conceptions about the subject matter. I read a 244-page book about math and enjoyed it. Absolutely more than ‘Little Women,’ more than ‘Dianetics’ and more than any math or logic textbook I have ever read. It is a charming read and gives the reader a deeper appreciation for the field.
Perhaps one of my favorite openers of all time is in none other than the short story, “Dugan O’Keefe: Defender of Mathematical Law.”
“The story you are about to read is true, only the names have not been changed to protect the innocent. The fat, ugly woman in the second chapter is based on my aunt Emma; the boisterous, overbearing man that appears sporadically is a mirror image of my uncle Harold, and the acid-tongued, nagging Amazon is, amazingly, almost a spitting image of my mother-in-law,” writes Farlow.
Just like that, I spit out my drink, kicked off my shoes and settled in.
My favorite segments of this book are, admittedly, Farlow’s short stories. Namely, ‘Skeleton in God’s Closet’ was particularly enjoyable for me. To be forthright, I read the first line and had to look up the word ‘ombudsman.’ For other imbeciles in the same league as me, it is basically a human resources representative who investigates complaints. The rest of the story follows an afterlife nightmare –– Hell is too damn fun because Hell has mathematicians.
“Why, there are so many applied mathematicians and engineers down there, they’ve installed air conditioning. It’s a pleasant 70 degrees,” writes Farlow.
It’s fun stuff, give it a read. Press here for the Amazon link.
