i have the answer to a question that we've all asked. the question is, why is it that the letter x represents the unknown? now i know we learned that in math class, but now it's everywhere in the culture -- the x prize, the x-files, project x, tedx. where'd that come from?
about six years ago i decided that i would learn arabic, which turns out to be a supremely logical language. to write a word or a phrase or a sentence in arabic is like crafting an equation, because every part is extremely precise and carries a lot of information. that's one of the reasons so much of what we've come to think of as western science and mathematics and engineering was really worked out in the first few centuries of the common era by the persians and the arabs and the turks.
this includes the little system in arabic called al-jebra. and al-jebr roughly translates to “the system for reconciling disparate parts.“ al-jebr finally came into english as algebra. one example among many.
the arabic texts containing this mathematical wisdom finally made their way to europe -- which is to say spain -- in the 11th and 12th centuries. and when they arrived there was tremendous interest in translating this wisdom into a european language.
but there were problems. one problem is there are some sounds in arabic that just don't make it through a european voice box without lots of practice. trust me on that one. also, those very sounds tend not to be represented by the characters that are available in european languages.
here's one of the culprits. this is the letter sheen, and it makes the sound we think of as sh -- “sh.“ it's also the very first letter of the word shalan, which means “something“ just like the the english word “something“ -- some undefined, unknown thing.
now in arabic, we can make this definite by adding the definite article “al.“ so this is al-shalan -- the unknown thing. and this is a word that appears throughout early mathematics, such as this 10th century derivation of proofs.
the problem for the medieval spanish scholars who were tasked with translating this material is that the letter sheen and the word shalan can't be rendered into spanish because spanish doesn't have that sh, that “sh“ sound. so by convention, they created a rule in which they borrowed the ck sound, “ck“ sound, from the classical greek in the form of the letter kai.
later when this material was translated into a common european language, which is to say latin, they simply replaced the greek kai with the latin x. and once that happened, once this material was in latin, it formed the basis for mathematics textbooks for almost 600 years.
but now we have the answer to our question. why is it that x is the unknown? x is the unknown because you can't say “sh“ in spanish. (laughter) and i thought that was worth sharing.
Hold Fast To Your Dreams
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every vally shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
Wow, what a dream it has been for Martin Luther King. But the changing world seems telling me that people gradually get their dreams lost somehow in the process of growing up, and sometimes I personally find myself saying goodbye unconsciously to those distant childhood dreams.
However, we meed dreams. They nourish our spirit; they represent possibility even when we are dragged down by reality. They keep us going. Most successful people are dreamers as well as ordinary people who are not afraid to think big and dare to be great. When we were little kids, we all dreamed of doing something big and splashy, something significant. Now what we need to do is to maintain them, refresh them and turn them into reality. However, the toughest part is that we often have no ideas how to translate these dreams into actions. Well, just start with concrete objectives and stick to it. Don’t let the nameless fear confuse the eye and confound our strong belief of future. Through our talents, through our wits, through our endurance and through our creativity, we will make it.
Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams, for when dreams go, life is a barren field frozen with snow. So my dear friends, think of your old and maybe dead dreams. Whatever it is, pick it up and make it alive from today.
this is a glass of water, tasteless, right? however if you add sugar, it will taste sweet, but if you add vinegar, it will become bitter. the same is true with our life the flavor is created by our choices.
if kindness is added to a strange you will have a friend;but if hostility is added, you will have an enemy. if love is added to a pile of red bricks you will have a home, but if hatred is add to those bricks , you will have an concentration camp.
so my dear friends, never complain that life is boring and the world is disappointing. if don’t like the taste of your life, changethe ingredients.
three year ago, i weighed more than 100 hundred kilograms which caused significant embarrassment and frustration in my life. like always failing my p.e examinations, like always being laughed at by girls, like being terrified to speak in public. it was my grandmother’s encouragement that revived from my passive attitude to become confident in myself. she said “ my dear, if you can’t change you figure, why not treat it as your own style. so i began to cautiously employ the new way of thinking. by choosing to change my outlook on life, i developed the confidence to make a difference and finally i found a totally new world.
not forget, you earnestly to teach the scene not forget, you sent her daughter to ride back to school is not to be forgotten, when the daughter of late in your sad eyes
is not to be forgotten, when the sick daughter on your face can not forget the scenes of fear, the father and daughter is not to be forgotten ... ... if the situation can be life-cycle the next life, i also make your daughter!
so my dear friend, if faith, hope, love, endurance areadded to your life, you will find the confidence to conquer your limitation and embrace new challenges. and hopefully with my speech included, you will have afantastic speech contest.
on my birthday two years ago, many special things happened on me. and i would
remember them forever.
that morning, i rode my bike to school happily as usual. on my way to the
classroom, i saw some of my classmates. but when they saw me, they rushed away. that made me confused. because they would talk to me or play jokes on me before. but it was strange today.
when i came into the classroom, i found the atmosphere was quite strange.
everybody looked at me and laughed loudly. suddenly they all said in good order,“happy birthday to you!” then they began to sing “happy birthday to you~~~~~~” that made me moved. i never told anyone about my birthday, how did they know? i believed they must have done a lot of things. at that moment, i found nothing to say but thanks instead!
after school, a thing coming as a surprise happened on me on my way back home. when i was riding suddenly a crowed of people rushed out to stopped my bike.i recogized them at once. they were my senior classmates. they all comlained to me,“why don't you tell us about your birthday? don't you fear that we will let you stand treat? this time you owe us.” then each of them gave a gift and a card with best wishes to me. i was deeply moved again. i suggested having a dinner together. but they all refused because of the time. then they left me saying we would ask you to pay us another day!
when i got back home, i thought of everything happened today. suddenly i felt so happy because i had such great friends around me. i thanked them from the bottom of my heart. i would value the precious friendship forever!
i have so many feelings through that special day. the only rose without thorns in the world is friendship. a true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart. truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget. one friend in a lifetime is much, two are many, three are hardly possible. stick to make friends, forlife without friends is like life on a desert island. to find one real friend in a lifetime is good fortune, to keep him is a blessing.
thank you for your attention!
Good morning,ladies and gentlemen,today i am so happy to stand here to give you a speech.Or rather, a real story of mine.
Though with time going by,i can still remember what you once told me.You should be a brave girl.Smiling,you looked into my eyes.Year in,year out,nearly most of my memories are fading little by little.But only this simple sentence remained,without being forgotten in my life.
Again and again,i can not stop myself from thinking about it.So ordinary,but so impressive,so moving,just like the brightest sunshine,it helps me go through the darkest night.I am such a sensitive girl in your heart.You said,my sorroful facial expression made feel so distersssed.However,there is one thing i never tell you,that is ,i am becoming a big girl gradually with your words and smiles.I never tell you about it,for i believe oneday,you can see the great changes of mine for yourself.That is what i want to do in return.As i know,that will be the best gift for you.
I suddenly think of a song named MY HEART WILL GO ON.There is a beautiful sentence going like this.You are safe in my heart.More than once,i was moved to tears by it.I know ,i am also safe in your heart.i have already forgotten when i told you i was going to leave for Australia this summer holiday.You just smiled as usual,gently speaking.Whatever you decide to do,i will be in favor of it,but, just onething,remember,when you fell lonely abroad,do not forget we are here ,praying for you.We are all around you,far across the distance and space between us.i closed my eyes,the flashback started.The memories we had together,once we played games on the palyground,we played jokes on each other,you always wrote a lot of sentences on my articles to encourage me.And the most unforgetable thing,you told me,you believed m i could be a big girl.Sooner or later.
At that specific moment,i suddenly understood the meaning of this sentence totally.So on that day,i smiled as you used to,looking at you.The last words i said were,keep walking in sunshine.
Yes,keep walking in sunshine.I said to you ,also to myself.I know i am not alone wiht your company,and we can keep walking in sunshine till the last minute of our days.
I promise,i will be a big girl.
I promise,i will be a brave girl.
I promise,i will keep walking in sunshine.
That is my speech,thank you!