Number skills...

I read somewhere that we should start inculcating mathematical skills in a child right from when he is 3 months old...
I scorned at the statement then....
But friends...dont be a fool like me..There is an element of truth behind it...the main reason being that they can only listen to you then ...and cannot stump you with out-of-the-blue answers...
A few excerpts for your proof..

Excercise 1
Amma- Achu, what comes after 3?
Achu ( with genuine interest)- 3 na?...( Then goes into deep thought.. or so his mother thinks.. coz he stares into her face .. widening his eyes...without even a blink..)..
A minute or two passes...
Amma- ( patting him in encouragement) Yes Achu.. come on...
Achu- Shut up and let me concentrate...
Another two minutes..
Amma-What exactly are you thinking?...My question was what comes after 3...
Achu- ( fully irritated) This you should have told me before.. See.. now i have to count all over again...
Amma-( Swallowing hard and holding her breath for a second ..)-OK.. Ok...just tell me the number that follows three...
Achu-( with a very serious enquiring expression..) Tum ko kya lag raha hey?...3 ke baad kya ho sakhtha hey?
A thud and a scream follows...


Exercise 2
Amma- What comes after 20
Achu - ( In a flash of a second)-40
Amma- With an unusual patience- No Achu --its 21
Achu- ( in a heavy bhojpuri accent)..Kyon ..40 phir 20 se pehle aatha hey kya?

Exercise 3
Amma-Circle the biggest number-2,6, 8
Achu- 8.. and promptly circles it
Amma- Excellent Achu- Now do this 4,7, 1
Achu-1... and hurriedly circles it.
Amma- How did you conclude that 1 is bigger than 4 and 7
Achu- Log zyada tharah biggest number last mein hii likhthe hein..

Sometimes.. in desperation...i turn to his father for some help..which is totally denied ..with the excuse that the damage has been caused by the 23 chromosomes inherited from the mother( experimentally proven.. and he has sufficient valid data to support the hypothesis)..and so the responsibility of fixing it too lies entirely with the mother....
Well...so be it...

Condolence..

I woke up at 3 AM today....
These pre-dawn hours have always given me a queer experience...
My mind gets filled with a stream of baseless... yet dark and tense thoughts..
which to my own surprise..vanishes with the break of dawn...
For over two hours i condoled the death of Dr. Sherry, the scientist..who .. under the pretext of prioritizing her motherhood... thrashed her scientist-self to death ..
She has an office for name sake...which she she shamelessly converted to her son's study room..
Every afternoon..both mother and son hold their homework sessions there..sitting amidst unfinished data books and file works...
Labmates are now quite used to their tantrums.. and extend their support in whichever way possible.. be it by retrieving lost office sheets.. from the dust bin ( if its found in the form of a boat or plane .. they deftly patch it up .. if its totally in bits.. they cut it still further so that no one recognizes it..)
If at all she holds discussions with her students.. its only for clarifying a hindi alphabet or a word..which has turned up for that day's homework..( Her hindi vocabulary is quite popular in office and she doesn't want to take any chance with her son..)
During the morning session when her son is not around.. she spends her time writing applications for endless issues..( repair of equipment, sanction for purchase of chemicals, approval for library books, buying mattresses in girl's hostel, collection for lab tea club..)
All this goes on till 1PM.. then she disappears to her home half an hour earlier than usual ...coz lunch has to be prepared and she needs that extra half hour for thawing the frozen fish...
Lunch session is till 3Pm...
3-5PM- Homework
5:05 PM- Back to kitchen for tea and snacks...
The only time i think of science and my career.. is those pre dawn hours.....which in fact is the only time i can spare to think about myself..
So why complain!!! Something is better than nothing...