This short story cleverly uses the epsilon-delta definition of continuity of a function to discuss the changing self-esteem of a character over time. After briefly recalling the rigorous definition, it introduces Thomas Henneck's "self-esteem function" and tells his life story in remarks such as
| (quoted from Continuity)
Tom's highest recorded self-esteem rating occurred when he was 10.4398679 years old. He had recently been voted president of the fifth grade, been invited to a party by Mark Davis, failed a math test, seen a picture of a dissected cat, had lasagna for dinner, and been praised by his teacher for his diligence in washing his hands. His self-esteem rating was 51.043.
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and ponders philosophical questions such as
| (quoted from Continuity)
Can the graph of Tom's self-esteem values be drawn without lifting the pencil from the page? Is there indeed a delta for every epsilon? Or, on the other hand, is it possible to jump from one self-esteem value to another without hitting the values in between, leaving holes in the graph, rifts in the stream of cause-and-effect? Can one love oneself one instant and hate oneself the next, or must there be a steady decline?
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Based on my knowledge of the rest of Mauro's writings, I agree with his comments when he wrote to me:
| Contributed by
Buzz Mauro It's probably the most mathematical of all my stories in some ways. (Also the least traditional as far as plot goes.)
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Published in
Columbia, Issue 32, Summer 1999. |
