The Year of Deeper Newness

January 4, 2006 in Editorial | 2 comments

Enter 2006. I’m always a bit weary of even years. There’s something unsettling about it. At least I’ll turn 25 (a fantastic odd number, though not prime, and yet still a perfect square) in July. Generally speaking I don’t usually consider January 1 as the New Year. Having been raised in a country where the school year begins in the late August or early September I’ve always considered the advent of fall as the New Year.

As far as 2006 goes, I must say that I have high expectations. I’ve dubbed this year “The Year of Deeper Newness”. I’m not even sure what I mean by this exactly. The feelings I have when I hear the phrase are akin to the feelings one gets while listening to a song which embodies a fantastic amount of meaning.

The past several years of my life have been like setting up a chess board. It seems that all the pieces are now in place. In fact they may have been set for some time now. But I’ve been afraid to move a piece. Moving a piece means commitment. Moving a piece means embracing the adulthood (read “summer of life”) that my existence now embodies. Moving a piece means moving forward, not back. And sometimes, just sometimes, I’m afraid how the game will play out.

I think that both Emily and I will have made some big decisions come the end of next December. I hate to speculate on the possibilities, but I know that when it all plays out it will be both totally different and utterly fuller than we could both imagine.

A toast to 2006, prime factorization 2*17*59.

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January 7, 2006 at 12:04 am

Guy

Guy’s avatar

Ian, I too am unsettled by even numbers, and to think that I have to live within one for an entire year, every other year, kind of makes me want to scream. Now, I’m no mathematician, so I’m asking your help: can you figure out a way to do away with even numbers? If so let me know. Thanks.

-g

January 8, 2006 at 2:57 pm

Ian Luke Kane

Ian Luke Kane’s avatar

Actually, I’ve thought about this a bit. A member of my family (Uncle Matt) also hates even numbers. In fact, when his birthday comes around and he’s set to turn an even age he just skips the number and tells everyone he’s the next odd number years old. In effect he spends 2 years at each odd number. So I think right now he’s either 49 or 51.

As far as eliminating even numbers altogether, it would be a tough gig. We’d have to come up with a catch phrase that was cool enough to convince people to eliminate the evens. Something like “3 is the new 2.” I’ll talk to some of my business friends.

The hardest parts would be as follows:

1. Discarding the number 2. Two has many unique functions in math and elsewhere. Some examples would be that 2 is the smallest prime and also the only even prime and that Einstein’s famous energy and mass equation has a two in it. Also, the concept of 2 has been embedded in our cultural mindsets for quite a long time. Whether you look at 2 as a model for dialectical arguments or as the number that has historically formed a natural family unit, two is pervasive to say the least.

2. Discarding the number 10 would also be tough since our natural numbering system is base ten. Most economies have currencies based on 10 and humans also have ten fingers and toes usually.

3. Discarding the number 0. One of the fundamental unspoken rules of math is to not mess with zero. 0 will kill you in your sleep.

Those are my initial thoughts. Let me know if you have any input. In the meantime, I’ll look into it.