What is a Tangent Line?

The term comes from such fields as geometry, trigonometry and calculus. It is a line which intersects a curve in exactly one spot.

So a person who goes "off on a tangent" has found an intersection to a topic, and leaves the topic at hand to pursue the other idea which had intersected it. If this is done in the pulpit, the preacher is "chasing rabbits." Other speakers merely ramble, of course, or just get off topic. I occasionally "get on the soap box" in my classroom, an allusion I am certain that most of my students let politely go over their heads.

So, you may have some idea of what to expect from this blog. I will not be on one topic specifically -- although I certainly have some favorites! But I will talk about things that interest me. And oh, what a lot of things interest me in this wide, wide world!

Of course, I will welcome your comments. I do ask for a measure of civility, even when there is intense disagreement. It *can* be done, you know! In the face of an increasingly hostile world, I still believe in the gift of which the angels spoke: Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward men.

And ah! ... Christmas is coming! ......