Newswise Blog

Thursday, June 03, 2010

Fastest Way to Second or Third Not a Straight Line to First

Williams College math professor Frank Morgan is keeping an eye out for Major League hitters who veer toward the dugout on their way to first base. While at first glance this route might not seem the best way to start a sprint toward home plate, Morgan says his calculations prove it’s the fastest way around the diamond.

Although he says that the quickest path to first base is a straight line, for baseball players who hit a long ball, Morgan says the best way around the bases takes a more circular shape. By cutting off the corners, an average runner can round the bases 20 percent faster, saving approximately four seconds.

What’s the lessons for life in this news story?

1- Solutions to problems can be counter-intuitive.
2- Math can be helpful other than for counting change?

What do you think.  Comment with your life lessons, please.

Read the full article here.

It is kind of like the Parthenon, perfection through imperfection.  The curved lines appear to be straight.

I seem to recall that Pythagorus and Pericles and Phydias had a baseball team with the logo—“the faster I go, the behinder I get.”

and who can forget the great controversy when they changed the rules about using magical creatures to run the bases?  the “perseus and pegasus” rule, I believe, they called it.