Tidbits

How would Aladdin be more interesting?

"I wish this wish was not granted."

Tidbits

Something I want to try at one point: taking "Applied" or "Experimental" and tacking it onto a profession that is not typically either, then creating a metaphysics from there for fun.

Recursive Inigo Montoya's

Name a character: "Hello. My Name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." It'd be funny since his name isn't Inigo Montoya. In fact, to make the sentence true, you'd have to replace "Inigo Montoya" with the phrase "Hello. My Name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." This makes it:

"Hello. My Name is

"Hello. My Name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

You killed my father. Prepare to die."

However, the new phrase is still incorrect, so you have to insert it again:

"Hello. My Name is

"Hello. My Name is

"Hello. My Name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

You killed my father. Prepare to die."

You killed my father. Prepare to die."

But that still isn't right! Eventually it becomes a long series of "Hello. My name is" over and over again for infinity, followed by an infinitely long string of "You killed my father. Prepare to die." But you never get to hear that part.

Why Metamathics?

I picked the name, Metamathics, for specific reasons. Metamathematics is the study of math using math, a way for the eye of logic to look at itself and check its own consistency. Here, I generalize the concept as a way of looking not just at the specifics of a given system, but the broader meta-concerns in its structure.

As a math teacher, the nature of math itself outside just the content is of interest to me. It's not just about "How do I teach square roots" but when and how to teach it so skills related to other topics are covered. Thinking about how we think about math and using it in curriculum instruction has occupied much of my time.

There is another level, though. Apart from just the classroom instruction, there is the environment around the classroom: the school itself. How the school is lead, organized, and run impacts the way the math is taught. This is another meta-level to education that many forget: the context of the classroom and the layers that separate a teacher from the student.

Games are a type of formal system, with axioms, theorems, and proofs. As a game designer, thinking about games is a type of meta-level analysis of this formal system. It's not just about the game itself, but how it expresses and uses the formal system of games to define itself.

Sequential art is a form of language unique to itself, where a string of images rather than words conveys the meaning. We see the images and we absorb the information, but how do different frames and designs influence the data we absorb? What is the common meaning we assign to certain visual tricks? A language must make sense to be of use, and comics do make sense - and understanding the why and how requires generalizing across types and styles.

My influences here are Douglas Hofstadter, with Peter Senge and Thierry Groensteen added in for good measure.

Introduction to Metamathics

Welcome to Metamathics! My goal is to express some of the regular meditations and epiphanies that occur to me now and then as I reflect on my activities as an educator, game designer, and comic creator.

This blog focuses on two general topics:

1. My experiences and reflections on education and math.
2. Thoughts and ideas on game design.

I've blogged about my early years with the Create a Comic Project quite extensively, so I will mainly focus on 2010 onward. This is when I became a classroom math teacher and on my role as a game designer for Cracked Monocle, which started around the same time. I will also post about my experience writing webcomics, such as Strange Candy. However, expect the lion's share of comic posts to go to the CCP Blog. If I mix comics with other topics, I will likely cross post.

Additionally, I will post monthly columns:

1. Tephramathics, which focuses on a straightforward breakdown of the mechanics underlying Tephra: The Steampunk RPG; and,
2. Game Systems, where I apply the concepts of a formal system to games and game design.

These columns will alternate month-to-month. I am currently thinking of a series detailing my experiences with educational administration and what we need today in school leadership.

You can also expect small snippets of things ("Tidbits"), for things like one-line jokes or random musings/conversation starters.

I hope you enjoy this. Please feel free to comment as you wish. My hope is to inspire discussion and conversation.