Maths or Machines?

 


I had a new experience at the weekend: blowing up tyres! It may amaze you to know that I have got to this stage in life without being a pro at such activities... In any case, I ventured out to what should have been a short trip to the local garage, but ended up being a somewhat more lengthy experience (thankfully not in my father's vintage car pictured above).

At the nearby garage, having put my money into the machine and made every effort to make it work, the tyre pressure refused to go up sufficiently. After enquiring about this, I was advised that the machine was broken (albeit in a slightly less formal way!). The next step involved driving a few miles to another garage, but they didn't have such a machine and recommended that I try the original place! That not being an option, I continued my quest in the nearest city and eventually found a working machine. However, this had to be supplemented with some internet searches to make sense of the different units being used and an additional conversation with a passer-by, who was very helpful in explaining the intricacies of the machine. I was so delighted with his assistance and understanding that I promptly declared him to be a genius! He smiled and calmly replied, "Tell the wife that..."

Contemplating my lack of aptitude for what should have been a simple task, I realised the irony that part of my Ph.D. had involved mathematical simulations of a chemical reaction which takes place in the catalytic converter of a car, but I had struggled to blow up the car's tyres! 

However, we all have different gifts and I remembered the Bible verse about the different parts of the body having different functions, representing the contrasting, yet complementary, roles that we all have. Some of us are practical and some theoretical, some artistic and some scientific, some creative and some analytical. This means that our diverse talents allow us to make unique contributions: the important thing is that we do our part well and give all that we can to help others. In such a way, we bring honour to the one who gave us our talents.


"If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?"

1 Corinthians 12:17



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