雷妮是個(gè)護(hù)士。過(guò)去,她從不像其他人那樣對(duì)數(shù)學(xué)感興趣。
But she had somehow gotten hold of the software well and was hooked.
但不知道為什么她被這個(gè)軟件程序所吸引,并且被“套住了”。
"Now what I want to do is make a straight line with this formular, parallel to the y axis," she begins.
“現(xiàn)在,我所要做的就是用這個(gè)程序去畫一條同Y軸平行的直線。”她開(kāi)始說(shuō)話。
Schoenfeld is sitting next to her. She looks over him anxiously. "It's been five years since I did any of this."
肖恩菲爾德坐在她身邊,她焦慮地看著他。“從我開(kāi)始做這個(gè)軟件,到現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)五年了。”
She starts to fiddle with the program, typing in different numbers.
她開(kāi)始胡亂輸入數(shù)據(jù),敲著不同的數(shù)字。
"Now, if I change the slope that way... minus 1... now what I mean to do is make the line goes straight."
“現(xiàn)在如果我減去一,那么線就會(huì)變直。”
As she types in numbers, the line on the screen changes. "Oops, that's not going to do it." She looks puzzled.
隨著她輸入不同的數(shù)字,屏幕上的線也隨之改變。“噢,這樣好像行不通”。她看起來(lái)好像很費(fèi)解。
"What are you trying to do?" Schoenfeld asks.
肖恩菲爾德問(wèn)道:“你想做什么?”
"What I'm trying to do is make a straight line parallel to the y axis. What do I need to do here?
“我就是想畫一條與Y軸平行的直線。我需要做些什么?
I think what I'm going to do is change this a little bit." She points at the place where the number for the y axis is.
我認(rèn)為我應(yīng)該再稍微移動(dòng)一下。”她指著Y軸上的數(shù)字說(shuō)道。
"That was something I discover. That when you go from 1 to 2, there was a rather big change.
“我發(fā)現(xiàn)了,當(dāng)你把1換成2,就會(huì)看到斜線的角度發(fā)生很大的變化。”
But now if you get way up there, you have to keep changing." This is Renee's "glorious misconception."
“但是如果你這樣做,你就得一直改動(dòng)。”這就是雷妮的理解誤區(qū)。
She's noticed the higher she makes the y axis coordinate, the steeper the line gets.
她發(fā)現(xiàn)在Y軸上所取得數(shù)值越大,線距離Y軸的角度就會(huì)越小。
So she thinks that the key to making a vertical line is just making the y axis coordinate large enough.
因此,她認(rèn)為只要在Y軸上取得的數(shù)值足夠大,那么就可以得到一條垂線。
"I guess 12 or even 13 could do it, maybe even as much as 15." She and Schoenfeld go back and forth.
“我想,取12或者13就可以得到一條垂線了?;蛘?5。”她皺起眉說(shuō)道。
She asks him questions. He prods too gently in the right direction. She keeps trying and trying, one approach after another.
她同肖恩菲爾德共同反復(fù)地探討解決方案,肖恩菲爾德一點(diǎn)一滴地朝著正確的方向引導(dǎo)她。她一直試了又試,一次次接近目標(biāo)。
At one point, she types in 20. The line gets a little steeper. She types in 40. The line gets steeper still.
這一次,她輸入20,線只比原來(lái)的角度斜了一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)。她輸入40,線依舊只傾斜了一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)。
"I see that there is a relationship there. As to why, it doesn't seem to make sense to me....
“我覺(jué)得這有些關(guān)聯(lián),但是至于為什么會(huì)這樣,我始終想不明白。
What if I do 80? If 40 gets me halfway, then 80 should get me all the way to the y axis. So just let's see what happens."
如果我輸入80呢?如果輸入40,斜線已經(jīng)與Y軸成45度,那么輸入80就應(yīng)該得到一條直線了。所以,我要輸入80,看看結(jié)果如何。”