Don't Integrate With Your Mouth Full

On the first day of section for Quantitative Reasoning 28: “The Magic of Numbers,” TF Nicholas F. Rogers extolled the magic of the number three—three balanced meals a day, that is. The veteran instructor and head TF for the course assured students that he himself would occasionally be noshing during the section, which meets during the prime luncheon hour of 12-1 p.m. on Friday, and that they should feel free to dig in as well.

“I have lunch all the time in class and I encourage you all to eat in section,” Rogers says. In fact, he has taught several classes with pizza in hand.

So far no one has consumed anything more notable than yogurt, soup, and the occasional sandwich in class.

But how would the policy would stand up under an 8 oz. steak, bib-on-the-chin, no-holds-barred kind of meal? Steak, however, exceeded FM’s budget. Corn on the cob, in all its tooth-picking, juice-squirting glory, seemed equal to the task. A large bowl of strawberry Jell-O accented the meal.

Here’s the play-by-play:

The topic of the day is the powers of prime numbers. Five minutes into the section, the corn comes out of the bag, served on an attractive wooden stick. It’s surprisingly easy to write and chomp on the ear of corn at the same time, and although one kid noticeably moves his chair away, FM doesn’t seem to have caused much of a stir. By 21000, all the rows of corn have been put away. After elegantly extracting a piece of silk from FM’s pearly whites, it was time for the next course.

Now, the problem with the Jell-O is there’s so much of it. Be forewarned: it’s hard to balance a large bowl of jiggly concoction and make a table of inverses at the same time. FM is reduced to balancing the bowl on FM’s knees and taking spoonfuls while working. With its squishy noises, Jell-O is also a deafeningly loud snack, especially in a quiet Science Center classroom, and so messy enough to use up an entire napkin provision.

At the end of class, FM discreetly inquires as to the uniqueness of the stunt. “I think,” says Rogers, “there was someone in my other section who ate something, but I don’t remember what it was.” FM’s bandwagon-riding classmates suggest other options , including a bowl of cereal with milk, squirt cheese and a lobster. Maybe next week.