When the pediatric nurse indicated on Mia’s two-week
checkup records that she was 75th percentile for weight and 90th
for height, I knew what was up. She was a big, healthy baby. Cool.
At her six-month checkup, when her data showed 90th
percentile for weight and 95th for height, I was a bit surprised,
but not shocked.
Her twelve-month checkup arrived. When her weight registered at the 80th
percentile, and the nurse recorded her height in the 100th
percentile, I was completely flummoxed.
According to my understanding of percentiles, my child
was “as tall as or taller than 100 out of 100 children.”
Clearly this meant that I was the parent of the tallest
baby in the world. I wondered if the Guinness folks would be in touch. Should I
contact the local newspaper?
How was this even mathematically possible?
Well, I still don’t know, to tell you the truth, but I
did recently(ish) learn about an algebraic concept that might help in
understanding this phenomenon. The concept is called “asymptote” and the vessel
for this math-mcnugget was the book Drive
by Daniel Pink.
Fascinating read about human motivation.
Definitely recommend it.
It’s my understanding that an asymptote is one of those
things that approaches perfection—100%--but can never quite achieve it. The book
references artist Paul Cezanne and athlete Tiger Woods and their lifelong
pursuit of mastery in their respective talents. Both are humble enough to understand
that no matter how good they get, there will always be an opportunity for
improvement.
Looks like understanding math is going to be my mastery asymptote-quest
in life. Certainly enough room for improvement in this area.
In the meanwhile, if you’ve got ten minutes and forty-eight
seconds to spare, you might enjoy watching the RSA Animate (LOVE them!) video
summarizing Daniel Pink’s studies. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc
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