The Hailstone Sequence
Mathematicians’ mystery,
numbers rise, fall
(hence, the
name) –
any way it
starts, they
claim,
surely always
ends the
same.
© 2014 Matt Forrest Esenwine. All rights reserved.
J. Patrick Lewis has challenged us to write a zeno this month. What's a zeno, you ask? Click HERE for details.
To join in the fun, send yours to TodaysLittleDitty (at) gmail (dot) com, or use the contact form in the sidebar to the right. All zenos will be included in the wrap-up celebration on October 31st, and one lucky participant will win a copy of Pat's gorgeous, new, "best of" collection:
I googled "hailstone sequence" to find out a little more about them -- so cool! Nicely done, Matt.
ReplyDeleteThis challenge is not easy! And you've not only written it well, but intrigued us with the math problem. I like that (hence, the name).
ReplyDeleteA perfect way to start off this month's zeno fest, Matt! Zeno of Elea would be proud.
ReplyDeleteThanks, folks! Definitely one of the harder forms to work with, but a lot of fun!
ReplyDeleteGlad to know what a hailstone sequence is Matt--cool mathematical sequence, equally cool poem!
ReplyDeleteInteresting form. I will give this a try. Thanks for the post.
ReplyDeleteYou learn something new everyday. Thanks, Matt. Great poem. :)
ReplyDeleteA mathematical poem formula leads to a mathematical poem. Great! Nice exemplar for my students.
ReplyDeleteWow, Matt! Your poem is like two puzzles in one...a zeno about The Hailstone Sequence. (And until Michelle's post with J. Patrick Lewis and your poem today, I had no idea about either one :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks again, everyone - I appreciate you taking the time to comment!
ReplyDeleteNice job, Matt! This looks extremely challenging, plus there's that math angle. Shudder. I think you did Pat's form proud, though. :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't get how brilliant this was until I tried to write a zeno--and realized that the syllable count of the form (8,4,2,1,4,2,1,4,2,1) matches the numbers in a hailstone sequence. Wowzer, Matt!
ReplyDelete