I just finished reading a book, Carry the One, by Carol Anshaw. The story involves the unfolding lives of several people in the years following their varied involvement in a fatal car accident. It is a good book, with some deep themes about forgiveness, responsibility, and family relationships. But, what I want to write about is the mathematical image of "carrying the one." The title of the book comes from the passage, "There's still this connection...Like in arithmetic. Because of the accident, we're not just separate numbers. When you add us up, you always have to carry the one." Of course, this refers to the death that all of them carry forward in their lives, but visually I was thinking of how we denote "carry the one" in a mathematical equation--the one is always above the other numbers and smaller, almost an afterthought. It is there to remind us that we have more to do, more to add, more in the equation than what was first written. It is not as strong or visible as the other numbers, but it is still part of our calculation. It is a device, a notation that we insert to help us in the calculation.
Not long ago I read "The Sense of an Ending," by Julian Barnes. It is another story that incorporates mathematical images and ideas. One of which was the question, to what extent is our life multiplicative rather than additive? What does it mean to have a multiplicative life? Barnes' main character feels as though he has gone through life merely adding on things, taking on roles, doing what is expected (getting married, having children, working). In the end, he is unhappy. He feels as if he has contributed little, accomplished little. How does that differ from a multiplicative life, one in which our acts are multiplied across time and space? In both addition and multiplication, though, we end up "carrying the one."
What "ones" are we carrying in our lives? What experiences or consequences become part of our life equation?
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