The Mirage of Eating Out

Whenever I'm out and asked "what do you want to eat for lunch/dinner?", I'll respond: "something cheap, delicious, and healthy", most of the time if not all the time. This knee-jerk answer is also coupled with the wealth of options (want this but also want that...) as well as the fear of making a wrong choice if choosing the menu for a group of people. 

 

While the questioner, and sometimes even myself, is initially satisfied with the brilliant characteristics of the food to be seek, one will sooner realize that that meal is just as elusive as a winning lottery ticket. At best, only two of the three features can be attained at the expense of the remaining feature which is still as essential as the other two. 

 

I decided to put to picture what I'm talking about in this Venn diagram. In a nutshell, choose the two characteristics of your next meal that are most dear to you, while bearing in mind that there will always be a compromise; unless, of course, if you decide to burn some time cooking up your own meals in your already hectic schedule...

Choose wisely my friend. With great decision come great compromise!

Why I think Trigonometry is created?

After much contemplation, I have came up with a rather self-convincing postulate as to why trigonometry is invented. Note that this is just my take on the underlying idea behind trigonometry, so it may not be as accurate compared to that of a mathematician!

Trigonometry literally means "measure of triangles", specifically right angle triangles. Why right triangles? Because it is much easier to manipulate as among the three angles in a triangle, you only need to worry about two angles while the remaining one is always 90°. Trigonometry works just as well for ordinary non-right triangles (Cosine law and Sine law) as any triangle can be viewed as a combination of 2 right angle triangles.

Now, the shape of a triangle depends entirely on its internal angles, not the length of its sides. One of the three angles only changes when any two sides of the triangle change non-proportionally or not in accordance to a certain ratio (given by the value of the trigonometric function). Only when you change any two sides of a triangle (for instance, when you want to resize the triangle) according to the ratio given by the appropriate trigonometry value, then only will the shape and thus the given angle will be preserved, only this time, the triangle have a different size. Note that the third remaining side will change according to the trigonometric ratio  as a result of the proportional change of the other two sides. 

 

So, if you want to change the length of one side of the triangle without changing the angle, we will need to change another side proportionally according to the trigonometric value for that given angle; the other remaining side will follow suit changing proportionally to either of the two sides.

Let's say we have a right angle triangle with one of the angle to be 30°. If I want side A=5 units, then by using sin 30°=1/2=A/B, side B=10 units. And by using tan 30°=(surd 3)/3=A/C, side C=5(surd 3) units.

Basically, no sides of the triangle is spared from length change if you want to resize your triangle while preserving its internal angles. But you can't simply change the length of the sides however you wish. They need to be according to a given ratio. And trigonometry provides us this ratio to resize our triangle while keeping its angle and shape intact. This resizing will also help in the use of similar triangles in navigation to determine far far distances.

Why you gotta do what you gotta do

I found this short story in a YouTube comment, which put to words what I feel towards all of my work, be it studies, diet, workout, responsibilities, etc.

. . . . .

He Sleeps in a Storm by Albert Lewis, 1975

 

A man seeks employment on a farm. He hands his letter of recommendation to his new employer. It reads simply, 'He sleeps in a storm.' The owner is desperate for help, so he hires the man.

Several weeks pass, and suddenly, in the middle of the night, a powerful storm rips through the valley. Awakened by the swirling rain and howling wind, the owner leaps out of bed. He calls for his new hired hand, but the man is sleeping soundly. So he dashes off to the barn. He sees, to his amazement, that the animals are secure with plenty of feed. He runs out to the field. He sees the bales of wheat have been bound and wrapped in tarpaulins.

He race to the silo. The doors are latched, and the grain is dry.

And then he understands. 'He sleeps in a storm.'

My friends, if we tend to the things that are important in life, if we are right with those we love and behave in line with our faith, our lives will not be cursed with the aching throb of unfulfilled business. Our words will always be sincere, our embraces will be tight. We will never wallow in the agony of 'I could have, I should have.' We can sleep in a storm.

"When You Do The Things You Have To Do When You Have To Do Them, The Day Will Come When You Can Do The Things You Want To Do When You Want To Do Them"