Links to Literature: First Graders, Flies, and a Frenchman's Fascination: Introducing the Cartesian Coordinate System

Abstract

The Fly on the Ceiling: A Math Myth (Glass 1998) imaginatively recreates the story of René Descartes and the Cartesian coordinate system. Descartes, a French philosopher and mathematician, was unfortunately also a messy and disorganized person. One day, unable to find any food in his room, he ventures to the bakery to buy a loaf of bread. On his way home, deep in philosophical thought, he falls into the Seine River, catching a cold. At home in bed, he gazes at the only clean spot in his room—the ceiling. There, he observes a fly moving from one place to another. How can he track the fly's movement? Does the fly ever land on the same place twice? Using charcoal from the fireplace, René makes a grid on the ceiling, labeling each line with numbers. He can now track the fly's movement using ordered coordinates for each point. His grid (the Cartesian coordinate system) is the solution to his disorganization.