Can you imagine a person having the name "cusp"? The word "cusp" is used in mathematics, psychology, and when describing the shape of a shoreline. However, this word is rarely used for names, because it simply does not look like a name. It is definitely not a conventional name, and it seems to not mean anything. As a result, it is natural for most of my classmates to laugh when I declared the cusp to be my name. Despite these oppositions against naming myself a cusp, I believe that the word "cusp" is a suitable name for me because it represents a "big change."
The mathematical cusp refers to a "pointy" part of a function which is not differentiable. The cusp is not differentiable because a function rapidly changes its rate of change near a cusp. In order to differentiate a function, the function must be able to be approximated to a line when magnified. However, because the rate of change suddenly changes near a cusp, the cusp cannot be approximated to a line even if someone observes the cusp with an electron microscope. In addition, a cusp in a function makes a jump discontinuity in its derivative, as shown in the picture above (the blue graph is a derivative of the red graph). The jumping change in the y-value of the derivative proves that the rate of change rapidly changes near the cusp, since a derivative represents a rate of change. The psychological cusp is a behavioral cusp, which indicates a change of behavior that enables one to meet with new environments and has long-term consequences. When people use the word "cusp" to describe a shoreline, they are referring to the shape of a cusp.
I sometimes differentiate my mind. I divide the curve of my life history into infinitely many parts and see the individual incidents that happened in an instantaneous time period. I sometimes review my life by calculating the instantaneous rate of change based on individual incidents. For most of the time my life history changes gradually, so I am always able to calculate the rate of change. This means that I can compare the past and present. For example, because a typical Wednesday and Thursday in KMLA are not significantly different, I can say that Thursday is "better" than Wednesday, and that the rate of change is a positive number.
However, there are some moments when I cannot compare the past with the present. Sometimes I suddenly feel that everything I saw until yesterday would be completely different from the things I will see tomorrow. I feel that I have acquired a completely new perspective about the world. In these moments, I notice that a new cusp is drawn in my life history curve, causing a jump discontinuity in my life-derivative. Many people call these moments "epiphanies."
When I use the word "cusp" as my name, I am referring to the epiphanies I felt in the past and might feel in the future. For example, when my mother whispered that she gave my Christmas present on the night of Christmas Eve, my belief about Santa Clause collapsed, drawing a big cusp in my life curve. Learning that the camel cricket was not as harmful as the legend while doing the group project "debunking a myth" drew another cusp. Moreover, the shape of my life curve as a whole is close to a cusp because I am gradually changing my perspective about others. Big and small epiphanies often occur to me, and every epiphany forms a cusp in my life history curve. So, my life curve looks like a fractal filled with cusps, similar to the picture above.
Most names mean something. For instance, my Korean name represents the hopes of my parents for me to grow beautifully and become a leader. My self-bestowed name, a "cusp," also means something. This name represents my life because my life curve is full of cusps and its derivative is full of jump discontinuities. This name also shows my hope to experience more cusps in the future, because cusps help me to grow. The cusps provide me a new way to look at the world and thus help me to escape from the old, wrong way of looking the world. For example, before experiencing a cusp, I thought that my life was the most miserable one on earth, but after experiencing an epiphany I now think that my life is not miserable as I previously thought. Because no humans, including me, are perfect, most cusps help me to escape from biases and see the world as it is. Therefore, because the word "cusp" fairly represents the shape of my life curve and contains my hope to experience more "cusps" in the future, I declare my name to be the "cusp."
Very interesting concept of "cusp," and creative metaphorical use where you explore the "jump discontinuities." The mathematical language you use, and your way of applying the process to life in general, is very dynamic and compelling. The writing is generally very good and clear.
답글삭제However, the theme of "choosing a new name" is somewhat undernourished, and I'm not sure I am "hooked" into the context from your intro. Though not bad, it could be improved, and even capitalizing the word Cusp so it looks like a name would be a step in the right direction. As well, providing some sentences where Cusp is used as a name would help. Have you thoroughly explored other avenues of the name itself? The sound, the spelling, the image it gives people? While you do a great job of explaining the cusp process, it might go on a bit long, and a change in focus might inject some variety. The essay we read in class, Eighteen, probably had too much variety, but you can see how it segued from theme to theme while keeping a theme. The theme of Cusp as a name could use some strengthening, and I would like to feel as if you fully explored the topic a bit more.
All in all, very good.