Looking Through the “𝒊”: A Mathematical Look on the Features of Bacolod Capitol Lagoon

Everything around us, whether similar or not, has been looked at in different ways – by people whose background, environment, experiences or perhaps culture differ in a lot of aspects. Now let me ask you this question: “Have you ever wondered what the world would look like through the eyes of every other individual that you’d encounter everyday?”

I have always wondered how people perceive Mathematics in their lives. As a Mathematics teacher by Profession, I would usually hear more negative statements about
math than good ones. I have encountered some who proudly declared how mathematicshad made their lives miserable when they were still students and it really disheartens me.

I had so many “what ifs” in my mind. What could have been the perspective of these people if they had opportunities to see the beauty of mathematics around us.

In this article, I will share with you how a math enthusiast in me sees the world around us hoping that you will have a lighter and a more positive perspective towards it.

One of the more loved activities done by people of different ages nowadays is travelling. It has been one of the go-to things that people do to relax and forget the stress that they feel at school, at work or generally in life.

Allow me to share with you a landmark in my hometown, Bacolod City which you would want to visit whether you are from the city or not. There have been numerous reviews about the place highlighting its aesthetically pleasing features but behind some of these features are mathematical concepts that we could not immediately appreciate at first glance.

Bacolod Capitol Lagoon and Park is one of the most visited places in the heart of the city since friends and families can spend quality time here for free. A stunning view of the Negros Occidental’sCapitol Building is also visible just at the back of the
park. There are also several striking structures inside the park itself. Right at the middle of the park is the Lagoon, a large pond that has live Tilapia fishes. Many people especially families find joy in feeding the fishes as it is a nice way of exposing the youth the importance of these creatures so that they can also develop love for them.

This landmark is also the Kilometer Zero or Km 0 or K 00. In navigation, this place marks the starting point for distance reference. It serves as the point of reference when identifying the distance travelling to the different cities and towns of Negros Occidental.

In mathematics, it is like the point of origin in analytic geometry. In solving for the distance or displacement, this has always been the point of reference – It is like the zero point in the number line where positive numbers represent distances going north while negative numbers represent distances going south. Furthermore, coding was also used here. The “TC 7” means that from this point, it is seven kilometers away from the next city going north which is Talisay City, while “B 22” means that the next city going south which is Bago City is 22 kilometers away. In the concept of the number line, Bago City and Talisay City have coordinates – 22 and +7, respectively (which would then imply that Bago and Talisay are 29 kilometers apart using basic arithmetic).

The park has also used a four-sided polygon in most of its landscaping features. If you happen to observe the plant boxes and the grass formation, they are mostly rectangles. This has helped maintain the regularity in the park which made it more beautiful. There is uniformity in the place which makes me think that the people behind this structure must have thought of patterns and symmetries when they were building this that even the perimeter fence of the park is made of grills that highlight parallelograms in the design.

Even the flooring of the park used rectangular outdoor tiles that formed regular tessellations (which we can name as 4.4.4.4) all over the grounds.

It is indeed fun when we look at things in a unique way based on our own experiences, background and culture. As a Mathematics teacher, the way I see things has been greatly affected by my “way of life”. This shall be a reminder to all that even in simple situations like visiting some places, it is never impossible to find and appreciate Mathematics in almost everything by looking at details. This could also be a call for parents like me to expose our children with real informative facts not just through technology but also through the accessible resources around our respective localities.

Learning Mathematics or any other discipline goes beyond our usual physical and recently, virtual classrooms. Let us normalize looking at these disciplines in the context of our ways of life.* (Mark Xavier A. Guanzon/photos taken from Vigattin Tourism and The Negros Green Island FB page)