Penelope’s Loom

 My apologies for missing you last week, Dear Reader, pressing family matters.... This week, let us explore the life and times of Hypatia of Alexandria. Uh, who? Hmmm.  Conic sections? Or, how about the astrolabe? Conic sections? What is the importance of mapping conic sections? Because I am illiterate in higher mathematics:      A  conic section  is the intersection of a plane and a double right circular  cone  .  By                     changing the angle and location of the intersection, we can produce different types of                   conics. There are four basic types:  circles  ,  ellipses  ,  hyperbolas  and  parabolas  .    None of    the intersections will pass through the vertices of the cone. https://www.varsitytutors.com/hotmath/hotmath_help/topics/conic-sections-and-standard-forms-of-equations I should think that the importance of this would be self-evident, like the Declaration of Independence, but allow me to point out one example:  the concept of the ellipse aided in

Who? No, she didn't write "Jane Eyre."  No, she didn't write "Wuthering Heights."  Those were written by her sisters Charlotte, and Emily respectively. Now, I like--no LOVE "Jane..."  (ok, ok, to be honest, I would love to seduce Mr. Rochester in some out-of-the way Mediterranean villa).  But ,I have to ask the question, because I am by nature a contrary creature, is Jane Eyre  a masterpiece? For that matter, is Wuthering Heights a masterpiece?  ******* NOTE:  I must confess to you that as a girl, I watched "Wuthering Heights" (1939) with Merle Oberon and Lawrence Olivier, and while I really didn't like the characters, I loved as a rule any romantic tale.  Hoping to find a deeper tale in the book, as was my previous experience, I dove headfirst into Emily Bronte's tome.   Here's an absolutely hysterical version starring Richard Burton and (wait for it) Patty Duke: Uh...nice hair? Now, it's unusual for me to scream at books