Abstract
Abstract paintings and math are kinda the same, really xD
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Apropos of nothing, I like it when you sometimes do the black dots for eyes, it looks neat~
If a Pancake is y, how much is a parrot?
If Broccoli is one, what’s that say for a carrot?
Kaya is percolating over math treats
A challenge, above all, she hopes she beats.
The sage and wise brother counsels her well;
because, if he doesn’t, she’ll make his life hell.
To strategise the answers is all that she needs;
the answers are the hunger her invention feeds.
They’re both struck by thought as the answer comes
(it’s got caught behind our best guy’s gums)
Doe this electric noise have some meaning?
Does it mean that one of them’s dreaming..?
Almost eight years since the beginning and you’re still at it. I applaud your dedication; I look forward to your poems almost as much as the new page itself.
He does it for other comics, too. He’s basically a machine.
… and over on the main Kevin and Kell website, he and I are married with numerous kits! (In a nice, friendly RP kind of thing).
Plus, he always has at least *something* interesting to say on the topic of the current Kevin and Kell strip…
That’s been going, what, 28 years?
It’s mainly just this one ATM with Precocious and Housepets! on long term hiatus.
Might I point you in the direction of Two Kinds?
It doesn’t have a comment section though, at least on the main page.
I don’t know for sure what that sound is, but I’m guessing either a wind chill or the phone is ringing. Or maybe the doorbell. Which I’m going to guess is leading to one of the others in their group asking for studying help with their own upcoming exams.
In any case, I look forward to Mondays just so that I can see the next page you post, Robin. Loving every minute of it.
I understand it as somebody drilling in a concrete wall. That can be so loud that people elsewhere in the building need hearing protection. It could be Marco working to get the restaurant ready. Or it could be some roadwork on the street outside. Such noise will seriously hamper their studying if it continues for long.
Yeah I’m going with construction noises as well. Not conducive to study at all unless one doesn’t mind wearing some kind of hearing protection. Maybe the twins will go visit a friend or the library where they can study in peace.
Are you Robin’s editor or something? You called that perfectly.
Sorry, didn’t see these comments until today; thank you for the responses.
Neighbor building a fifth wall! 🙂
It won’t stop Kaya!
*Insert loud noise that interrupts the comic*:
*Zzzzzzzeeeeearrrrrrr! Tcka tcka tcka tcka tcka! Mmmooooooooo!*
Kai is pretty good at explaining things to his goofy sister, maybe he would be a good teacher. It seems both twins equate the abstracts of math with abstract art, cute expressions in that panel, by the way; in my opinion, those are two different kinds of abstract. That bit about Cleo’s bank account is really abstract, that’s a huge number to calculate!
I assure you that no matter how rich Cleo is, it’s a small number in terms of abstract math. Not only it’s finite, it’s also computable in constant time and can be written down in simple positional numeral system. Much smaller than numbers like Moser’s number, Skewes’s number, Graham’s number or Rayo’s number, where you need quite complex abstraction just to write them down on paper smaller than universe.
It’s totally *that* kind of “abstract” though. In visualization as well as calculating, you can take away everything that gives the modell a substance.
And then you can end up with a piece of art that has no recognizable color or shape.
And you end up with a calculation that has been rid of any physical object or effect.
That is what abstract means.
Though for many people like Kaya or me, it helps to retain some understanding of a phyiscal concept to guide ourselves through the math problem. And then we can also apply the understood principle to other processes. Like, once you understood an oscillator circuit of capacitors, resistors, and coils, you can apply the same thing to systems of springs and weights, or acoustics, or … anything!
Interesting thought.
Algebra is the expression of the relationship rules among any quantifiable object. It is the first exposure to the concept of a behavior or relationship that exists in and by itself – i.e., divorced from any physical object. This, hopefully, awakens the student to the idea that what is true for one arena of life can apply to another, not just math.
To me it was obvious so I never had a problem with the Algebraic concept of an abstract X to stand in for any quantifiable object. This comic is a real eye opener to what others may have struggled with.
On a slightly different note I have often wondered if Elon Musk’s fascination with X comes from this abstract attribute. From his first company, naming his child, renaming Twitter, naming his new AI company – all X. Meaning unlimited possibilities? A blank canvas? All encompassing? All of the above?
I think that their father’s espresso machine needs repairs.
Or someone in the next room is really cold.
That’s the burrito lunch kicking in.
Work in progress restarts !
Speakin of art, I have the feeling you inprove yours. Poses look more natural.
It helps when you realize that X can mean literally anything you want – it’s just a variable.
This is one place where I wonder if taking some basic programming would *help* a lot of people understand. People tend to think you need to know math before you can learn to apply it practically, but in my experience, knowing practical application can help you understand how it’s supposed to work. It was definitely the case for me and the order of operations.
But yeah, in programming, you’re encouraged to label variables with clear names, like “APPLES” or “CARS”… or “PANCAKES” or “PARROTS” or “MONEY”. 😉 The point is to help programmers keep track of what’s being calculated esp. when multiple people have to work on the same thing.
But when you’re just practicing how the math works, it helps to know that it works the same, regardless of if it’s pancakes or what. So instead of needing to put a name for everything, you typically just put X, or Y, or something. 😉
For languages that require you to release the source, one trick is to write it using long, descriptive data names, and run the source through a special program – SED for example, or a custom program – to change to names like A0001, A0002, A0003, etc.
I can relate! If I don’t have a real-world application for certain mathematical functions/formulas…it just doesn’t stick in my head!
Yep, I was just like Kaya with math VS physics in school too. Some of us are just practical-minded. Not that I got bad grades in math, I just forgot everything I knew as soon as the test was over, because it meant nothing to me.
I suspect Cleo’s bank account transcends the realm of math and extends into higher dimensions.
It is well known that parrots often wear a little hat with the Jolly Roger on it. 😉
In what ways are abstract art and math the same?
In the same way that food and feces are the same: not in the slightest, though try telling that to the pedants who start their sentences with “Well, technically…”
I just found this comic, and it’s awesome! It has great art, as well as interesting and funny story. Also, Kaya’s problem with math is very relatable.
Welcome to the family! Love your ‘name’. 🙂 There’s a bunch of archive for you to go through too!
Cutlet is a good word.
Yes; it can either taste good, or be a takeoff on “cutlass.” 🙂 Do you have more possibilities?
I just like how it sounds and rolls off the tongue.
>> jprime “I just like how it sounds and rolls off the tongue.”
Would have made a good character alongside Shari Lewis’ “Lambchop” puppet; a pig named “Cutlet.” 🙂
ALSO… Check the right side-panel for “Gamer Dragons,” an only occasionally updated side comic of Kai & Kaya at a younger age.
On the “Extra” button is a recently completed side-comic called “Jesse’s Adventure” that’s also very much worth a read.
Slightly offtopic I just saw this show on NHK
Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/jarena/20231027/2073141/
Which pertains to this prior comic
here we see little Jin in action
https://www.twindragonscomic.com/comic/action/
Ah, Kaya’s having the same problem I had with Algebra in 6th grade, just a WTF that needed to be explained first. As far as Welsh Rat’s poem goes, you’re solving for dinner lol!
Oh great, one of the neighbors has a GAU-8A.
“Permits or no permits, we don’t need a CIWS to keep the pigeons off your car!”