"Mathematics in Poetry" - My Response To This Math Quote

Prompt: Describe your response to the quote: "The true spirit of delight...is to be found in mathematics as surely as in poetry." - Bertrand Russell.

* It says it will be used to get a clearer insight of my interest in mathematics.

"The true spirit of delight... is to be found in mathematics as surely as poetry." (Bertrand Russell). What would my response be? I would say the quote means that there is a happiness to be found in mathematics. Not only that but I would agree with Bertrand Russell's quote. Above all, I feel like this quote relates to me, describing exactly how I feel with math.

The quote means that a person can find happiness in math like one would a poem. A poet, for example, can read a line of the poem and understands what it represents. In the same way, a mathematician can read an equation and figure out what it means. In simple terms, it expresses that a person can love math just like a person can love poetry. The quote tries to explain the sense of challenge when the equation is presented to me, a sense of excitement while solving, a sense of achievement I feel when I found the answer. The quote explains the is a true state of euphoria in math.

Secondly, I agree with Bertrand Russell's quote. People can enjoy learning about certain subjects because it is interesting to them, it is an idea or concept that makes sense to them, or because they are just born with the talent of succeeding in the subject. Another reason I agree with his quote is because there is a teacher at South Granville High School who demonstrates this every day. The effort he gives and how he makes students apply it to different concepts shows that he really enjoys math. I am one of few, who would actually prefer him as my math teacher and accept the challenge.

Finally, I feel that this quote strongly applies to me because I enjoy understanding why a formula works, knowing there is a definite answer that can be proven, and the feeling it gives me when I find it. For example, I came after school and asked about the Pythagorean Theorm. And the feeling it gives to know what to do in such a pattern and knowing that it works makes me feel accomplished. So like the quotes implies, it is not something taught or learned, but it is a natural enjoyment of learning mathematics.

"The true spirit of delight... is to be found in mathematics as surely as poetry." (Bertrand Russell). This quote for the most part means that some people find happiness in mathematics. I completely agree wit Bertrand Russell. With all of this in mind, I feel that this quote can definitely be applied to me. Last but not least, I am supposed to make one last impacting sentence. This took me about nine hours to get what feelings and expressions I had onto this one paper, so it's clear to see I have some serious interest in mathematics.

Don't start with the quote- its really a bad way because the reader thinks you have no ideas of your own. Also, I think it becomes kindof bland.

You should cut this out and reword the following sentence. Instead, I think you should try to allude to the quote elsewhere without explicitly restating the quote.

"describing exactly how I feel withabout math"

"The quote means that a person can find happiness in math like one would a poem."
Again, this seems a little bland. Try to incorporate the quote itself instead of saying "the quote means..." Maybe:
A person can find the true spirit of delight in a math problem as one would find in a poem.

"The quote tries to explainLike a poet, I attain the sense of challenge when the equation is presented to meI confront an equation , a sense of excitement while solvingwhen I am solving it , and a sense of achievement I feel when I foundfind the answer."


Aren't you already agreeing with the quote? I think you can take this sentence out :)

"Another reason I agree with his quote..."
Again, you should take this kind of stuff out.

Overall, it is ok... You do a nice job of analyzing the quote. However, I feel that you are referring to the quote too much to a point that the essay sound impersonal and generalized. Try to show more how the quote fits uniquely to you. One way to start off is to get rid of all the statements that says "I agree with the quote" or something similar because it become very redundant. Once is enough. Use that space to instead show how to you math is like poetry in that it offers exhilaration upon discovering to solution.

Good luck!

Look at this material to see what you actually say. If I shared that quote with anyone, they could come up with "happiness can be found in math" as the meaning. This is just too simple. You have to look deeper.

I see how well you write, so all you need is some guidance for looking deeply at a sentence. What is the "spirit of delight?" He chose these words for a reason. Russel and other masters of language do not just express normal ideas in beautiful ways; they express profound ideas, and they have to use language in sophisticated ways to convey the meaning.

So... begin by asking about the spirit of delight.
Next, it would be good to compare and contrast math and poetry.
Get analytical about it, and enjoy tearing this idea apart. Anything you come up with will be cool if you start by digging deep.

As someone with natural writing ability, and (more importantly) the ability to write in a natural way, YOU are going to be very good at this. But you need to speculate about the terms spirit of delight, math, and poetry...