Angels on a Pin: A Modern Parable

Alexander Calandra

1. Some time ago I received a call from a colleague who asked if I would be the referee on the
grading of an examination question. He was about to give a student a zero for his answer to a physics
question, while the student claimed he should receive a perfect score and would if the system were
not set up against the student. The instructor and the student agreed to submit this to an impartial
arbiter, and I was selected.

2. I went to my colleague’s office and read the examination question: “Show how it is possible to
determine the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer.”

3. The student had answered: “Take a barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it,
lower the barometer to the street, and then bring it up, measuring the length of the rope. The length of
the rope is the height of the building.”

4. I pointed out that the student really had a strong case for full credit, since he had answered the
question completely and correctly. On the other hand, if full credit were given, it could well contribute
to a high grade for the student in his physics course. A high grade is supposed to (= should) certify (=
guarantee) competence in physics, but the answer did not confirm (= verify) this. I suggested that the
student have another try at answering the question. I was not surprised that my colleague agreed, but I
was surprised that the student did.

5. I gave the student six minutes to answer the question with the warning that the answer should
show some knowledge of physics. At the end of five minutes, he had not written anything. I asked if
he wished to give up, but he said no. He had many answers to this problem; he was just thinking of the
best one. I excused myself for interrupting him and asked him to please go on (= continue). In the next
minute he dashed off his answer which read (said):

6. “Take the barometer to the top of the building and lean over the edge of roof. Drop that
barometer, timing its fall with a stopwatch. Then using the formula S = 1/2 at2, calculate the height of
the building.” (He still did not use the barometer to measure atmospheric pressure, which was
expected by the physics professor.)

7. At this point I asked my colleague if he would give up. He conceded (admitted as true (often
unwillingly)), and I gave the student almost full credit.

8. In leaving my colleague’s office, I recalled that the student had said he had many other answers
to the problem, so I asked him what they were. “Oh yes,” said the student. “There are a great many
ways of getting the height of a tall building with a barometer. For example, you could take the
barometer out on a sunny day and measure the height of the barometer and the length of its shadow,
and the length of the shadow of the building, and by the use of a simple proportion, determine the
height of the building.”

9. “Fine,” I asked. “And the others?”

10. “Yes,” said the student. “There is a very basic measurement method that you will like. In this
method you take the barometer and begin to walk up the stairs. As you climb the stairs, you mark off
the length of the barometer along the wall. You then count the number of marks, and this will give you
the height of the building in a barometer units. A very direct method.”
(He used the barometer as a device to measure the length like a ruler/scale.)

11. “Of course, if you want a more sophisticated method, you can tie the barometer to the end of a
string, swing it as a pendulum, and determine the value of ‘g’ (= gravity) at the street level and at the
top of the building. From the difference of the two values of ‘g’ the height of the building can be
calculated.”

12. Finally, he concluded, there are many other ways of solving the problem. “Probably the best,”
he said, “is to take the barometer to the basement and knock on the superintendent’s door. When the
superintendent answers, you speak to him as follows: ‘Mr. Superintendent, here I have a fine
barometer. If you tell me the height of this building, I will give you this barometer.”

13. At this point I asked the student if he really did know the conventional answer to this question.
He admitted that he did, said that he was fed up with high school and college instructors trying to
teach him how to think, using the “scientific method,” and to explore the deep inner logic of the
subject in a pedantic way, as is often done in the new mathematics, rather than teaching him the
structure of the subject. With this in mind, he decided to revive scholasticism as an academic lark (= a
bit of fun) to challenge the Sputnik-panicked classrooms of America.
A. COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. Why did the writer decided to ask the student to answer the question for a second time?
2. Why did the student wait for 5 minutes before answering the question for a second time?
3. Did the student’s second answer show competence in physics?
4. Did the instructor agree with the writer that the student should get a good mark when he gave
his second answer?
5. Was the student’s second answer the one the lecturer wanted all the students to give?
6. Why did the writer ask the student to give more answers to the question?
7. Did the student know the ‘right’ answer to the question?
8. Why did the student answer the physics question in an unusual way?

B. VOCABULARY
grade competence recall challenged
confirm give up measure explore
impartial be fed up with revive dashed off
conceded set up pedantic conventional
certify interrupt proportion submit

1. I can’t _______________ the exact details of the report.

2. We must _______________ all the possibilities.
3. The difficulty of putting our ideas into practice _______________ us to find a new method.
4. She is studying for an exam tomorrow, so you had better not _______________ her.
5. I _______________ that I witnessed the signing of this document.
6. The dress designer is about to _______________ her client for her new clothes.
7. I’m only worried about his attitude to the job; his _______________ is not in question.
8. The police _______________ roadblocks to catch the escaped prisoner.
9. The president refused to either _______________ or deny this rumor.
10. He had to _______________ his studies through lack of money.
11. The tax increases in _______________ to the amount you earn.
12. We should _______________ the proposal to the committee for their approval.
13. She got a good _______________ in her mathematics course last semester.
14. Try to remain _______________ until you hear both sides of the story.
15. She _______________ that a serious error had been made in her calculation.
16. They would sound terribly _______________ if they spoke classical Greek.
 17. He _______________ the letter to the end.
18. I _______________ his story since I’ve heard it so many times.
19. They failed to fulfill their promises to _______________ the economy.
20. White is the _______________ color of a wedding gown.
C. WORD FORMS

1. The two sides were unable to reach (agree).

2. He was (select) to play for England.
3. His (select) as a presidential candidate was quite unexpected.
4. There has still been no official (confirm) of the report.
5. If I (be) in your position, I would not buy that expensive car.
6. The doctor suggested that the patient (stop) smoking.
7. I was (surprise) at her reaction.
8. He reacted with (surprise) speed.
9. I don’t recall (meet) her before.

D. GRAMMATICAL USAGE

1. I agree _______________ you about his latest book – it’s awful.

2. We agreed _______________ a price for the car.
3. This advertising campaign has contributed significantly _______________ the success of the
new car.
4. What do you think _______________ the government’s latest offer to the teachers?
5. Please excuse me _______________ opening your letter by mistake.
6. He paused for a sip of coffee and then went _______________ with his story.
7. Knock _______________ the door before entering.
8. I would like to speak _______________ you about my idea.
9. The job will take months rather _______________ weeks.
FedEx: The arrow hidden in the negative space between the ‘E’ and ‘x’ represents the idea of
moving forward with speed and precision.

Baskin Robbins: 31 flavors of ice cream. The 31 stands for the belief that their guests should
have the opportunity to explore a fun, new ice cream flavor every day of the month.

Milwaukee Brewers: The logo looks like a baseball mit catching a baseball. The letters ‘m’
and ‘b’ create the baseball glove.

Northwest Airlines: Northwest Airlines was merged into Delta Airlines. Can you see the
letter N and W? Look even closer, can you see the compass? It points in the north-west
direction.

Amazon: The yellow arrow implies that they sell everything from a to z. The arrow also
represents a smile, with the arrowhead being a stylized dimple or smile line. The smile
indicates the happiness people feel when they shop with Amazon.

The Bronx Zoo: The Bronx Zoo, located in the Bronx, a borough of New York City, is the
largest zoo in North America. Between the legs of the giraffes, you’ll see New York’s iconic
skyline.

The inscription of the tablet of the Statue of Liberty is the date of the American Declaration of
Independence in Roman numerals, representing the liberty and freedom of America. The torch
held in the right hand of the Statue of Liberty symbolizes the Lady showing a path to freedom
and welcoming the immigrants who were entering the United States in search of a better and
freer life.

Tostitos: Tostitos is the popular chip and salsa brand. The ‘tit’ in Tostitos is actually two
people enjoying chips and salsa at a table: the two “T’s” make up people dipping a tortilla
chip into the bowl of salsa on top of the letter ‘I’.