Have you made a decision not to base your decisions on political indecision? Having done so, are you unsure what to base your decisions upon? Would having a credible source help?

Does legislation pending in our state’s legislature that allows for the baiting of deer, thereby promoting their congregation — the stated purpose of the current baiting ban is disease control — cause you to wonder if it’s not only political indecision you should avoid but political decision, as well?

Have you concluded though deer may die from stupid, you don’t have to?

***

Awhile back, before the coronavirus moved in among us, I had the pleasure of buying a young lady a cup of coffee. Meghan Cameron is a calculus instructor at Alpena Community College, she has a master’s degree in applied mathematics.

I’ll let that sink in for a few seconds.

While it is, consider this story from the book “Infinite Powers,” by Steven Strogatz, a mathematics professor at Cornell:

“The novelist Herman Wouk, while researching a novel about WWII, went to CalTech to interview scientists who had worked in the Manhattan Project during the war. One of the people he interviewed was the Nobel prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman.

“After the interview, Feynman asked Wouk if he knew calculus. Wouk admitted he didn’t. ‘You had better learn it,’ said Feynman. ‘It’s the language God talks.'”

Now you know why I wanted to buy Meghan that cup of coffee.

Here’s the deal: calculus shows us what will be after change occurs. Calculus is the mathematics of change — both consistent change, and change that is constantly changing. Without it, we wouldn’t have cell phones, computers, or microwave ovens. We wouldn’t have radios, television, or ultrasound. There would be no GPS for those not lost who assuredly would be. We wouldn’t have split the atom, unraveled the human genome, or put astronauts on the moon, much less guided their spot-on return.

Mathematical epidemiologists use calculus and other disciplines to ascertain the course of epidemics, calculations upon which life-saving decisions can be based — provided they have the data they need.

My son, Matthew, a computer programing manager who works with masses of data, said this about calculus: “A lot of calculus is hidden behind the scenes. A lot of the work I do is ‘standing on the shoulders of giants,’ in that someone has already created what I need. My knowledge of calculus, therefore, is focused on knowing what to use of what has already been done and when to use it — not doing all the crazy calculations.”

With calculus, it makes no difference if you are black or white, tall or short, gay or straight, Christian, Muslim, or a Jew — you can even be a little crazy — it provides the same right answer. This, a welcome relief to those eschewing intolerance and indefiniteness.

Here’s the follow up to the Herman Wouk story:

According to Professor Strogatz, after Wouk completed his book, “Winds of War,” he decided to learn calculus. He lamented having spent his adolescent years in a quest for the meaning of existence not realizing calculus was the language God spoke.

So Wouk bought the book “Calculus Made Easy,” but found it wasn’t, so he checked out some texts — to no avail. Then he hired a tutor, but that didn’t work, either. Finally, in desperation, he audited a high school calculus class, but fell so far behind he gave up.

The kids gave him a round of applause on his way out the door. I doubt my leaving would engender as much.

We know the universe is deeply mathematical; that its dynamics obey laws expressible in the language of calculus — a language in which few of us are fluent. But, even for those of us who can’t do “the crazy calculations,” calculus is working behind the scenes. Thank God for that.

And thank God, too, for those who speak the language truth speaks — for teachers like Meghan Cameron and others whose work ensures the dialogue will continue.

Doug Pugh’s “Vignettes” runs weekly on Saturdays. He can be reached at pughda@gmail.com.