FAWM: "Pythagoras"

Pythagoras

Liner Notes

I now have enough songs from this month on a common theme, to add to some songs from late last year to re-record for an album. Yay! So now I can just be silly. #fuc #science #geometry #educational

Lyrics

C G
Pythagoras, he had a theorem,
G7 C
Relating a triangles three sides,
A7 D7
You probably memorized it in highschool,
G C
But long, long ago it left your mind.

Chorus:
C G C
A squared plus B squared equals C Squared,
A7 D7
It’s the formula that everyone should know,
G G7
When you get into a tangle.
E7 D7
With a right triangle,
G C
There is no other place that you can go.

I’m so glad I memorised this information,
As so many times in my adult life,
A few blasts of this little equation,
Has got me out of all manner of strife

It’s great that they taught me this in highschool,
Instead of how to do my taxes or grow food,
I just don’t know how I would have made it,
The hypotenuse it would still me elude,

Bridge:
C G G7
If you know the length of two sides of a triangle,
E7
Then why not just use that same method to measure the
G7 G7 F G7
third side? Why? Oh why?

Comments

@val 1d

Ha! Such nerdy fun. I love it! Great sounding uke too.

@infilktion 2d

True. I advocate for additional math options in the graduation pathway often. I would love to see more revamping of the math curriculum to make it align with what most will actually use. I try to tie my lessons into my students interest, but there is only so much wiggle room when I have to make sure certain standards are hit within each year. In a perfect classroom, we'd only cover the useful things and students would have a lot more choice to discover their interests and develop their skills.

@danielkelly 2d

Thanks Natalie @infilktion great to meet another filker. I have heard that "we are just teaching you skills, so the topic doesn't matter" argument a few times in my educational journey. And my unspoken response has been, "but you could do both, teach me something useful at the same time as teaching the skills". And of course both @gmcgath and @peteralway are right, Pythagoras theorem is actually useful in many real world situations.

@gmcgath 2d

I feel strangely compelled to answer the question in the bridge. Suppose you're trying to find how far it is between two opposite corners of a city block. You pace out the distance east, then the distance north, and now you pace out diagonally back to the start ... Oops! All those pesky buildings in the way!

I know, we're just being silly.

@peteralway 2d

B-but I actually use it from time to time when I'm working on drawings of rockets for my modeler's reference books! Like calculating the radius of curvature for a nosecone. And it allows you to put Lego parts together askew!

But yes, it's a fun song!

@infilktion 2d

Financial math would be very beneficial and I wish they would offer it as a math option toward graduation requirements. I teach pre-Algebra (among other topics) and love the look of shock on my students faces at the start of the year when they hear "I am not going to try to convince you that every formula and topic we cover will be relevant in your adult life. However, the skills of problem solving, learning from your mistakes, and identifying components of a problem and potential solutions are skills that I hope you always use." Sorry for the ramble, with all that, I mean to say your song is well done and a catchy tune! -Natalie