S28 out among human pursuits because its conclusions enjoy a permanency unmatched in other subjects. The mathematical wisdom of ancient times is just as valid today as it was then, and we ignore it at our own peril. On the other hand, mathematicians are typically humble about their own achievements, because they stand in awe before the vastness of what they do not know. 3 The word “mathematics” comes from the Greek “mathema,” which means “lesson.” For the ancient Greeks, one was not considered educated without a thorough grasp of mathematics, and famously could not enter into Plato’s academy without knowing geometry. This reflects not only mathematics’s connections to philosophical thought, but the uncanny way in which it seems to explain, and indeed to govern, the world. But mathematics is not merely a Platonic realm of our imagination, best left to the few that can climb its intellectual heights. The most important reason to provide abstract mathematics to the general population is to teach people to think critically about the world, to question their assumptions, and to illustrate the power of logical deduction. For mathematics is one of the few areas where the boundary between what is known and what is not known is well defined, and where we can always answer the question “why?” about the former. 4 Whenever one slices through a carrot or a log of wood along a slanted plane, the border of the oval-shaped cross section is a curve called an ellipse. Surprisingly, the paths that the planets trace as they move around the sun are also described by ellipses. This fact was first observed by Kepler, and proved mathematically by Newton, in one of the great triumphs of scientific Grammar in Context ¶ 3 Note the adjective clause which means “lesson.” Which noun does this clause modify? Is the clause restrictive or nonrestrictive? GLOSSARY uncanny (adj) weird and mysterious Platonic (adj) related to the ideas of Plato deduction (n) act of coming to a conclusion through reasoning 1. Comprehension ¶ 3 What is the origin of the word “mathematics”? 2. Analyze argument ¶ 3 What claim does the author make about the importance of teaching abstract mathematics to the general population? 3. Expand vocabulary ¶ 2 Notice the word mathematicians. Using what you know about the suffix -ian, define mathematicians. Inspect the Text Truth and Deception 401 PURPOSE FOR READING The business world of today relies heavily on complex computer systems. As you read this novel excerpt, think about what happens when these systems fail—as they sometimes do! D Read this excerpt from a novel about a failure in a computer program. from The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, and George Spafford 1 I say, “Hi, guys. I’ve just been made the new head of IT Operations. Can you start from the beginning and tell me what you know about the problem?” 2 Ann walks over to the flowchart on the whiteboard. “Let’s start with the information flow. Our financial system gets payroll data from all our various divisions in different ways. We roll up all the numbers for salaried and hourly personnel, which includes wages and taxes. Sounds easy, but it’s extremely complex, because each state has different tax tables, labor laws, and so forth. 3 “To make sure something doesn’t get messed up,” she continues, “we make sure the summarized numbers match the detailed numbers from each division.” 4 As I hurriedly jot down some notes, she continues, “It’s a pretty clunky and manual process. It works most of the time, but yesterday we discovered that the general ledger upload for hourly production staff didn’t come through. All of the hourlies had zeroes for their hours worked and amount due. 5 “We’ve had so many problems with this particular upload,” she says, obviously frustrated, “that IT gave us a program that we use to do manual corrections, so we don’t have to bother them anymore.” 6 I wince. I don’t like finance personnel manually changing payroll data outside the payroll application. It’s error-prone and dangerous. Someone could copy that data onto a USB drive or e-mail it outside of the organization, which is how organizations lose sensitive data. GLOSSARY payroll (adj)of the list of workers who are paid salaried (adj) paid on the basis of an annual sum of money hourly (adj) paid by the hour personnel (n) employees ledger (n) record of payments wince (v) contract one’s muscles in pain 1. Comprehension ¶ 4 What does Ann mean by saying “the hourlies had zeroes for their hours worked and amount due”? 2. Analyze dialogue ¶ 2–5 What do you learn about Ann from her dialogue? Explain. 3. Expand vocabulary ¶ 4 Use context clues to figure out the meaning of the word clunky. Inspect the Text READING STRATEGY Ask Questions ¶ 1–6 What questions do you have about the story so far? Grammar in Context ¶ 1–3 Note the verb forms used to indicate action: I say, Ann walks, she continues, and so on. Identify the verb tense and explain what it tells you about the actions. The Power of Possibility 97 E Reread the excerpt from The Phoenix Project. Use evidence from the text to explain your answers. Inspect the Text 1. What is the central problem in this story? 2. How do the staff members plan to solve the problem? 3. Would you like to read the rest of the novel? Why or why not? F Use the target vocabulary Complete each sentence. 1. workers don’t have to keep track of their hours. 2. We keep all our financial records in a handwritten . 3. The department issues workers’ paychecks. 4. The company’s make it a great place to work. G Make connections 1. Identify one problem computer systems have solved and one problem they have created. Do computers benefit society or harm it? Explain. 2. Have you ever been part of a group trying to solve a problem? How did your experience compare to the one in the novel? H Write Write a review of The Phoenix Project based on the excerpt. Explain why you do or don’t recommend it. I Revise Share your book review with a classmate and give each other suggestions for improvement. Revise your review using the feedback. Target Vocabulary facilities ledger payroll salaried Exploring Careers: Mail Delivery Driver Did you ever think about what your mail delivery driver does all day? The day starts with sorting letters and packages and loading them onto trucks. Next, the driver heads out and delivers the mail to homes and businesses. Many packages must be signed for, and drivers must record each package delivery as soon as it’s made. You need a driver’s license, reliability, and strength to lift heavy boxes. It also helps to have a friendly manner with customers. Note It! Write a few notes outlining the way you think the plot of The Phoenix Project will work out. The Power of Possibility 99 READING STRATEGY Monitor Comprehension Reread any paragraphs that you aren’t sure you understand. Try restating the ideas in your own words to make sure that you have grasped the author’s point. Finding Truth in Numbers Genre Opinion Article An opinion article is a type of persuasive writing. The author states an opinion and supports it with facts and examples. Authors of opinion articles try to convince readers to agree with their opinion. PURPOSE FOR READING Some people see math as a discipline that can help us understand the way the universe works. Others consider it simply a useful tool for doing everyday tasks. As you read this opinion piece, think about what math means to you. A Read the opinion article. Mathematics Is a Quest for Truth by Harry Tamvakis 1 The question of how to teach mathematics in primary and secondary education has appeared in newspaper opinion pages regularly during the last few years. The topic is a complicated one and does not allow for easy or simple answers. I am most alarmed, however, by proposals to eliminate abstract mathematical reasoning and subjects such as algebra and Euclidean geometry from the curriculum, presenting math as a collection of formulas and algorithms motivated by their applications to the “real world.” Instead, I believe that mathematics should be taught because it is a fundamental human endeavor, an essential part of the search for truth and meaning in our lives. 2 The notion of truth appears to be in short supply today, despite the overflow of information. We are inundated daily through the news media with ambiguous definitions, unstated premises, and questionable theories about human affairs. Science is certainly not immune to this problem— one need only look a few decades in the past to see how the prevailing orthodoxy in a given field affects the state of the art. Mathematics stands GLOSSARY curriculum (n) course of study endeavor (n) attempt to reach or achieve a goal inundated (v) flooded ambiguous (adj) unclear orthodoxy (n) accepted code of beliefs Analyze Point of View ¶ 1 What is the author’s view of abstract mathematical reasoning? Why does he express this view? Academic Vocabulary abstract (adj) definition example synonyms antonyms forms 400 CHAPTER 6 ENGAGE WITH MATHEMATICS Information Technology Professionals in the information technology (IT) field create and work on technologies such as smartphones and computers. They create and maintain the hardware (machines) and software (codes that make the machines “think”) that connect us to the world. There are four career paths: • Information Support and Services • Network Systems • Programming and Software Development • Web and Digital Communications A Read about some careers in information technology. B Answer the questions. 1. What do all the careers in this field have in common? 2. Which career is mostly about coding? 3. Describe a time when you got help from an Information Technology professional. C Respond. 1. Find out more about one of the careers in information technology. Do you think you would be successful at it? Why? 2. Which of these careers might interest you? Why? Genre Realistic Novel A novel is a long work of fiction. A realistic novel is set in the real world we live in. The characters are ordinary people doing things that real people do. Career Responsibilities Education, Skills, and Additional Requirements Network Engineer • Designs and builds computer networks • Maintains networks that connect computers • Guides and supports network users • some college, or associate’s degree • knowledge of computer networks • organizational skills Computer Programmer • Writes programs and codes that make computers work • Debugs (fixes) problems in computer code • Expands programing to meet new needs • bachelor’s degree • strong math skills • analytical thinking skills Information Technology Architect • Designs information technology systems • Works with business clients • Supervises computer programmers • bachelor’s or master’s degree • high-level technical knowledge • awareness of current IT technologies ▲ Network engineer ▲ A computer programmer writes software code. 96 CHAPTER 1 ENGAGE WITH CAREERS 7 “Did you say all the numbers for salaried employees are okay?” I ask. 8 “That’s right,” she replies. 9 “But hourly employees are all zeroes,” I confirm. 10 “Yep,” she again replies. 11 Interesting. I ask, “Why do you think the payroll run failed when it was working before? Have you had problems like this in the past?” 12 She shrugs. “Nothing like this has happened before. I have no idea what could have caused it—no major changes were scheduled for this pay period. I’ve been asking the same questions, but until we hear from the IT guys, we’re stuck dead in the water.” 13 “What is our backup plan,” I ask, “if things are so hosed that we can’t get the hourly employee data in time?” 14 “For crying out loud,” Dick says. “It’s in that e-mail you’re holding. The deadline for electronic payments is 5 p.m., today. If we can’t hit that window, we many have to FedEx bales of paper checks to each of our facilities for them to distribute to employees!” 15 I frown at this scenario and so does the rest of the finance team. 16 “That won’t work,” Ann says, clicking a marker on her teeth. “We’ve outsourced our payroll processing. Each pay period, we upload the payroll data to them, which they then process. In the worst case, maybe we download the previous payroll run, modify it in a spreadsheet, and then re-upload it? 17 “But because we don’t know how many hours each employee worked, we don’t know how much to pay them!” she continues. “We don’t want to overpay anyone, but that’s better than accidentally underpaying them.” 18 It’s obvious that plan B is fraught with problems. We’d basically be guessing at people’s paychecks, as well as paying people who were terminated, and not paying people who were newly hired. 19 To get Finance the data they need, we may have to cobble together some custom reports, which means bringing in the application developers or database people. GLOSSARY hosed badly damaged window deadline FedEx mail overnight by FedEx bales (n) stacks, bundles facilities (n) buildings for work activities cobble together make something quickly Grammar in Context ¶ 11 Note the phrase it was working. Identify the verb tense and explain what it indicates about the action. Analyze Dialogue ¶ 7–17 What does the dialogue tell you about the characters and their relationships? Explain. Analyze Author’s Craft: Pacing and Suspense ¶ 7–17 How do the authors use the dialogue to create suspense? Academic Vocabulary terminated (v) definition example synonyms antonyms forms 98 CHAPTER 1 ENGAGE WITH CAREERS Engage with Careers • This section focuses on career clusters and potential jobs and careers. • Careers sections help students discover their interests and choose the educational path that can lead to success in college and career. Engage with Mathematics • Builds conceptual understanding and prepares students for crossdisciplinary success. Students can listen to audio recordings of the content-area texts. Chapter Walk-Through xxix CHAPTER WALKTHROUGH
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