Beethoven and Mathematics

Did you know that today is National Mathematics Day in India and is to commemorate the birth anniversary of their famous mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. He had made remarkable contributions in various fields of mathematics and its branches in England and in India. 

Mathematics, the science of structure, order, and relation that has evolved from the elemental practice of counting, measuring, and describing the shapes of objects. Math deals with logical reasoning and numerical calculation, and its development has involved an increasing degree of idealization and abstraction of its subject matter. Since the 17th century, mathematics has been an indispensable adjunct to the physical sciences and technology, and in more recent times it has assumed a similar role in the quantitative aspects of the life sciences. Today to be a scientist in any area, you need to understand Mathematics.

Music is also Mathematics in a very beautiful form and in that spirit use the links to enjoy Beethoven's Symphonies No. 5 and No. 6, Choral Fantasy and Piano Concerto No. 4 (featuring the composer as soloist) premiere at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, Austria on December 22. (Year 1808)

The Beethoven concert of 22 December 1808 was a benefit concert held for Ludwig van Beethoven at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna. This concert then called an Akademie, occurred in a very cold hall and lasted for four hours. Its featured performers were an orchestra, chorus, vocal soloists, and the composer was featured as a soloist at the piano. Beethoven biographer Barry Cooper refers to the concert, in terms of its content, as the "most remarkable" of Beethoven's career.

Music at Christmas

For many at this time of year, music is an important part of the holiday season. Music is a powerful force that can improve mental health and well-being. The science is still developing on some of the most fundamental questions, such as whether listening to or performing music can help protect the brain against cognitive decline. We know that playing a musical instrument requires the use of many different cognitive skills, such as attention and memory, but we don’t know whether continually using those parts of the brain actually helps maintain those functions in later age. There is also some evidence that playing an instrument throughout life is associated with a lower risk of dementia, but we don’t know whether performing music causes the brain to be more resilient to disease. And we don’t know whether the evidence that resilience observed in the brains of musicians is only true for people playing since childhood, or whether it applies equally to musicians who begin to play late in life or for those who only listen to music.

 People who observe music’s powerful effects on mood, emotions, and movement for individuals of all ages are optimistic that it can also help improve and maintain attention, reasoning, memories, and speed of processing information. While science has fairly good evidence of music’s effect on the brain and how it works, science have not yet established that its positive impacts will result in long-term benefits to maintain the brain’s ability to maintain cognitive functions such as thinking and reasoning, or how to harness music to obtain maximum benefit.

 While most of the research evidence around the benefits of music for cognition involves active engagement in making music, listening to music has been shown to promote mental well-being. There is clear evidence that listening to music you like can help improve mood and decrease anxiety. There is some evidence on music therapy’s ability to influence cortisol levels for stress reduction. Less evidence exists for using music therapy and singing to promote the release of oxytocin, the hormone that promotes feelings of well-being. Despite the lack of scientific evidence, music therapists and psychologists often recommend listening to music as a well-accepted, affordable and non-invasive way to help people manage stress and stress-related health issues.

 But research studies on these issues show inconsistent findings on the ability of music to reduce cortisol levels or increase oxytocin or calm the sympathetic nerve system activity. We also know that meditation has similar beneficial effects on stress levels and we don’t understand what unique elements of listening to or playing music, as opposed to using mental techniques to calm thought processes, resulting in a positive impact on brain function.

Any type of musical engagement including singing, dancing, playing an instrument, composing music, and listening to music holds benefits for adults age 18 and older. A variety of different types of music engagement were associated with brain health, Adults who engage in music also report lower average levels of anxiety and depression.

Music participation is an easily accessible way to engage the brain. The benefits of music participation are not limited to those who perform in a professional capacity. Anyone can add music to their daily lives simply by listening to music during everyday activities or attending a musical performance. The research is clear, early and continued exposure to music has long-term benefits

Rumpelstiltskin

 In 1812 on this day, the fairy tale 'Rumpelstiltskin,' which was recorded by Jacob Ludwig Grimm and Wilhelm Carl Grimm based on the stories and folktales they had heard while travelling was published.

Rumpelstiltskin warns the reader of the dangers of speaking without thinking through the story of a miller's daughter who is forced to do the impossible.

The fairy-tale begins with a poverty-stricken miller, a person who grinds grain into flour, who tries too hard to seem important when he gets his chance to talk to the king. The miller brags that his daughter is so talented that she can 'spin gold out of straw.'

The king is prepared to teach the miller a lesson because he orders the miller to bring his daughter to the castle so she can provide proof of her abilities. The miller's daughter is locked into a room filled with straw, a spinning wheel, and a spindle. The King says, 'Now set to work, and if by the early morning you have not spun this straw to gold, you shall die.'

Obviously, the miller's daughter is in a panic and fears for her life because she can't deliver on her father's boast. As she cries, a little man walks into the room and tells her that he will spin the straw for her in exchange for her necklace.

The king is pleased when he discovers the gold the next morning but is too greedy to stop there. He locks her in another larger room and once again threatens her life if all the straw is not spun into gold by morning. The little man returns the second night, agreeing to spin the straw into gold in exchange for her ring.

The king is happy to find gold once again. On the third night, the king takes the miller's daughter to a room with even more straw in it, but this time, he says, 'This, too, must be spun in one night, and if you accomplish it you shall be my wife.'

The young girl is distraught once again because she has nothing left to give the little man. He tells her that in exchange for spinning the straw for her, she must give him her first-born child after she becomes the Queen. The young girl, thinking that this seems far away, and she may not even have children, agrees. In the morning, the king is happy. He follows through on his promise and makes the miller's daughter his wife.

The following year, the Queen gives birth to a child. By this time, she has forgotten about the little man. When he arrives demanding payment, she is terrified. The Queen offers to pay him with treasures, but the little man is not interested in lifeless riches. The little man gives the Queen three days to find out his name. She tries on the first two days all the exotic names she can think of, but none are the little man’s name. The Queen had also sent out scouts to comb the kingdom for his name, on the evening of the third day a scout came back with this story.

I saw a little house, and before the house, a fire was burning, and round about the fire quite a ridiculous little man was jumping, he hopped upon one leg, and shouted –

          to-day I bake, to-morrow brew,

          the next I'll have the young queen's child.

          Ha, glad am I that no one knew

          that Rumpelstiltskin I am styled.

You may imagine how glad the queen was when she heard the name. And when soon afterwards the little man came in, and asked, now, mistress queen, what is my name, at first, she said, is your name Conrad?  No. Is your name Harry? No. Perhaps your name is Rumpelstiltskin?

The little man cursed and jumped up and down and left the Queen in peace.

This story has four ideas that we should think about at this time of year.

1.   Honesty is the best policy. The story starts with a Miller lying to the King to look better, which put his only daughter at risk

2.   Greed is dangerous. The King in his greed is willing to kill the Millers daughter, but as she can perform the task she is given, she wins his heart.

3.  Pride can be your downfall. Rumpelstiltskin is boasting about how he won the day and because of his pride, he loses what he wants.

4.   Before you make a promise make sure you understand the consequences of keeping the promise. The Millers' daughter promises her firstborn child without understanding what that would mean.

My dog and the rabbit

So I woke up My dog is laying on the back patio covered in dirt with a rabbit in his mouth. The rabbit's not bloody, just dirty. My neighbour's kids raise blue-ribbon rabbits. I instantly knew it was one of theirs. 

So, I took the rabbit away from my dog, rushed inside, and washed all the dirt off it before my neighbours could come home. It was stiff but I heard some animals play dead when they are afraid but I couldn't remember which ones. 

I took it and placed it back in one of the cages in their back yard then I ZOOMED back home. Not 30 minutes later I hear my neighbours screaming so I go out and ask them what's wrong? 

They tell me their rabbit died three days ago and they buried it but now it's back in the cage.

A few puns make me numb, but math puns make me number

My friend David has is id stolen, now he is only Dave

And FINALLY

Yesterday I had a flat tire on the interstate.

So I eased my car over to the shoulder of the road, carefully got out of the car and opened the trunk. I took out 2 cardboard men, unfolded them and stood them at the rear of my car facing oncoming traffic. They looked so lifelike you wouldn’t believe it! They are in trench coats exposing their nude bodies and private parts to the approaching drivers.

But to my surprise, cars started slowing down looking at my lifelike men. And of course, traffic started backing up. Everybody was tooting their horns and waving like crazy.

It wasn’t long before a state trooper pulled up behind me. He got out of his car and started walking towards me. I could tell he was not a happy camper!

“What’s going on here?’

‘My car has a flat tire,’ I said calmly.

‘Well, what the heck are those obscene cardboard men doing here by the road?’

I couldn’t believe that he didn’t know. So I told him,

‘Hell000000, those are my emergency flashers!’