Wood on Words: Calcium builds strong mathematical thinkers

Calculations in early civilizations were performed using pebbles, either loose or as beads strung on an abacus. Those pebbles often were made of limestone, which consists mainly of calcium carbonate.

The word "calcium" comes from the Latin "calx," for lime (the white substance, not the green fruit), and is also probably related to the Greek "chalix" for pebble.

This confluence of calcium and counting produced the verb "calculate" for "to determine by using mathematics; compute."

It's also the origin of the name of one of the higher forms of mathematics, "calculus," and explains why "calculus" also can mean "any abnormal stony mass or deposit formed in the body" - which are often high in calcium.

The ancient Greeks were fond of mathematics. In fact, the word "mathematics" comes from the Greek for "to learn."

The practical benefits of such learning, of course, include being able to answer those burning questions "how much?" and "how big?" The former is about counting, the latter about measuring.

The Greeks also gave us our words for both of those branches of math: "arithmetic" or "the counting art," and "geometry," "to measure the earth."

Mathematics is admired for its precision, and the adjective "mathematical" can be used for anything considered "rigorously exact, precise, accurate, etc."

Because of this reputation, there's a certain amount of blind faith in math, reflected in the notion that "the numbers don't lie." Yes, that's true, but sometimes people who use numbers lie.

Not all calculations are to be trusted. There's "calculated cruelty," for instance. And if someone is described as "calculating," it probably has nothing to do with math but rather a tendency to be "shrewd or cunning, especially in a selfish way; scheming."

A phrase that's in vogue today is "Do the math," usually used by people who already have done so and therefore are convinced they're correct. According to the online edition of "Brewer's Dictionary of Modern Phrase & Fable," this expression arose in American English in the early 1990s.

Another relatively modern term is "crunch the numbers," meaning "to process (a vast quantity of numbers or other data) rapidly." More often than not these days, we let computers do the math for us. A computer is the ultimate "number cruncher."

Despite such technological marvels, however, things still don't always "add up."

That's why it's still important to learn the basics of arithmetic, so we can do our own addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. It all begins in the classroom with pencils and paper, blackboard and chalk.

And using chalk is another way calculation and calcium are connected. Chalk, in its natural state, is a soft form of limestone.

Go figure.

Barry Wood is a senior copy editor at the Rockford Register Star. Contact him at bwood@rrstar.com or write to Wood on Words, 99 E. State St., Rockford, IL 61104.