You are absolutely on point with this line of thinking, Holden Caulfield of India.
In fact, I have found a text which would be perfect for a Jerimiah of the Jailhouse to teach interested inmates in a county lockup with at least a few months of time on their hands: Sheldon Axler's
Algebra and Trigonometry. No hardcovers are permitted. Unfortunately for this hypothetical math preacher and his hypothetical math disciples, books in the hypothetical jailhouse must be ordered new, and the cost of new books (textbooks containing mathematical knowledge, especially) are prohibitively expensive.
For instance, there is a unique text by the author of Linear Algebra Done Right, Sheldon Axler: Algebra and Trigonometry with Solution Manual. I say it is unique because it is not at all dumbed down and is not at all boring ... a great exercise even if one feels it is "beneath one's level". Anyway, the mathemaniac outside the jailhouse can get a used copy from Amazon for seven dollars, whereas the poor devil in the jailhouse who wishes to enrich his cellmates inner life would be forced to pay, what, $170
, were he so inclined to order one (must be from
Barnes and Noble (new)) from the inside.
Now, that's just one example of how precious this fundamental knowledge can be. I fantasize about being able to understand fundamental concepts so deeply that I would be able to enrich an enthusiastic student's inner life in a jailhouse scenario even if we could not access books.
Note that I have no fear of landing in a cage as long as I do not imbibe alcohol and can content myself to stay holed up in a room thinking. This was Tolstoy's great observation about poor Raskolnikov, the former student in Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment: if he would have stayed holed up in his apartment thinking, he would not have went wandering around axing down the pawn broker.
I mention this to point out two things: one, that studying mathematics is never a waste of time, and, two, that this activity really is a powerful way to endure time, even the kind of soul-destroying time one endures dodging basketballs out in a crammed yard of a county jail in Historic Downtown Freehold.
The released inmate may find that, when he is released, he has only entered the Open Air Prison of so-called freedom where he will find he is very much needed by his ageing mother to haul groceries, clean carpets, and help with computer problems. The liquor store will be waiting for our newly released chimpanzee who can read, write, and do a little math. He will experience that Ligottian realization that there is nowhere to go, no one to know, and nothing to do.
Ah, but the very thing that kept him sane in the jail cell, what that crazy old Steppenwolf was drumming into his head day after day and through the dismal nights crammed in the pitiful cell, would open up a mysterious realm where he could take refuge from the seemingly purposelessness of human existence. Enrichment.
At one point in our dialogue, you had mentioned that, no matter what level of mathematics you were contemplating, you could find yourself in a kind of rapture over it.
I have found that the areas of mathematics I enjoy studying the most require constant use of algebra and trigonometry. I like the idea of studying Differential Equations because it requires me to use integration techniques that I otherwise would not ever put into practice. Other concepts come up again and again: logarithms, the natural logarithm, the number e, exponentials, the trigonometric identities, geometric versus numeric interpretations ...
And why restrict this study of mathematics as a way of enduring time simply to actual inmates of a penitentiary?
"If you want a safe compass to guide you through life, and to banish all doubt as to the right way of looking at it, you cannot do better than accustom yourself to regard this world as a penitentiary, a sort of penal colony.”-SchopenhauerI am sure Kafka's "The Penal Colony" was inspired by this very sentence of Schopenhauer's.
I do not forget this for one moment!
This adds a spiritual dimension to daily existence that is the prisoner's greatest spiritual advantage over the "free men". Everything has value to jailbirds: a plastic bowl, a dictionary, a sheet of paper, a pencil ... a special textbook (even something like basic electricity with diagrams ... a treasure!) ...
There used to be a library in the local county jail, but, as I may have mentioned, over a decade ago, school teachers on strike were placed in the jail, and they complained that there was too much subversive literature in the library. The books were removed. This is a truly ironic tragedy that it was professional educators who would instigate such a wicked act!
Yesterday,I was able to study math without any loss of concentration for many hours.This line emerged from your mind.A mind which cannot take anymore nonsense of this world anymore and which is also seeking a way out.
Exactly.
No more bullshiit.
No more lies.
No more "American Idol"
trying to mesmerize.
And, no, teacher, I want to understand
- without the need to memorize!
It is like I noted in the post,
What virtues does studying mathematics inculcate? from the
How to Attain a Studious Life thread:
An appreciation for complexity and for the limits of our ability to understand things. I guess this is the same as humility above, but doing math makes you realize that most people, most of the time, probably don't know what they are talking about. Math, like programming, chess, or most complex pursuits, is an antidote to human BS because BS doesn't get you anywhere in trying to figure out something mathematical.Bullshiit can get you a job, a car, or your own TV show, but bullshiit doesn't get you anywhere in trying to figure out something mathematical.
Amen.