Matematika "Maksa" Ala Blind Melon

Saya lagi suka mutar satu lagu jadul ini di iPod saya. Lagu "Three is a Magic Number" punya Blind Melon. Apa sebab? Lagunya lucu, ada unsur matematika "maksa". Begini nih liriknya.

Three is a magic number
Ya it is, its a magic number
Somewhere in that ancient mystic trinity
You'll get three As a magic number
The past, the present, the future
Faith, and hope, and charity
The heart, the brain, the body
Will give you three
It's a magic number

Lirik di atas, warna merah, masih boleh, lah ya...

It takes three legs to make a tripod or to make a table stand,
And it takes three wheels to make a vehicle called a tricycle
And every triangle has three corners
Every triangle has three sides
No more, no less
You dont have to guess
That it's three
Cant you see?
It's a magic number

Lirik warna oranye, agak maksa.

A man and a woman had a little baby
Yeah they did
And there were three in the family
And thats a magic number

Warna biru, kalau laki-laki dan perempuan itu punya anak satu lagi, magicnya hilang dong?

3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30

Yeah, di sini, kita mulai belajar matematika! Kalau nggak salah, ini baris aritmatika, di mana selisih dari dua angka yang berurutan adalah konstan. Cieh, memories back to school nih...

Setelah belajar tentang baris aritmatika, kita belajar perkalian! Liriknya di bawah ini...

Now multiply backwards from 3x10
3x10 is 30
3x9 is 27
3x8 is 24
3x7 is 21
3x6 is 18
3x5 is 15
3x4 is 12
And 3x3 is 9
And 3x2 is 6
And 3x1 is 3 of course
(now dig the pattern once more!)

Seperti kata liriknya, mari kita perhatikan pola angkanya!

3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 Oh yeah
3x10 is 30
3x9 is 27
3x8 is 24
3x7 is 21
3x6 is 18
3x5 is 15
3x4 is 12
And 3x3 is 9
And 3x2 is 6
And 3x1
What is it?
3

Dari pola di atas, saya perhatikan tiap angka punya selisih 3. Selain itu, coba lihat perhitungan ini:

30 -- 3+0=3
27 -- 2+7=9
24 -- 2+4=6
21 -- 2+1=3
18 -- 1+8=9
15 -- 1+5=6
12 -- 1+2=3
9
6
3

Hiya, angka 9, 6, dan 3 selalu berulang dengan pola yang sama. Oh, how smart I am! Hihi...

A man and a woman had a little baby
There were three in the family
And that's a magic number

Yeah, 3 memang angka ajaib! Bravo Blind Melon! :p

Gambar diambil dari Flickr