After a day of uncertainty at work, it was nice to change gears toward the relative solidity of mathematics, as explained by the little one. The boy sat me down and began explaining what he had taught himself during the course of the day. Amongst other things, it turns out that he had been using his traditional abacus to work out the Fibonacci sequence. After blowing my mind by describing Fibonacci sequences that appeared in his Cheerio intake, daily diaper changes, and late-night wakings, I reminded him to tread lightly when it comes to over analyzing things, particularly at his young age. He took a moment to measure such advice.
He then shook the frame and laughed as beads dashed to and fro, snapping against one another.
He proceeded to lick the beads, like a nourished tiger tending to its paw.
I didn't join him in the licking, but instead helped with the shaking festivities and then taught him how to flick individual beads across their wire path.
He seemed relieved to be escaping Arithmetica, and I felt better about not having to fake an understanding of the Fibonacci sequence.
