Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1897-08-04
rhE MATHEMATICAL GOAT.
ais Wonderful Feats of Calculation or
Instinct


Instinct
Almost every movement OF a kid
proves the mountain origin of its race.
Its powers Of climbing are extraordi-
nary and must be witnessed to be be-
lieved. ! have seen them Chamber on
slippery roofs and up the almost per-
pendicular face Of quarry to places
which seemed impossible to reach
without the aid OF ladder, or the
cllnging power OF claws or fingers,
says writer in Blackwood's Magazine.
! remember once seeing pair of kids
running races up and down the shafts
OF disused farm-roller which were
tilted up at an angle of about is De-
grees. On the extreme ends of the
shafts, high in the air, the little crea-
lures would stand. one on each, and
turn about, as on a pivot, with the
tips of all four hooflets close enough
together to rest on a penny piece.
Such fears on the part of a goat are
far more artistic exhibitions of skill
In climbing than anything that can be
done by cat or monkey, for he does
| everything by calculating his distance
with absolute exactitude and by an in
fnitely delicate power of adjusting his
weight so as to maintain his balance.
What gives such finish to the per-
/ Torrance Is his sublime confidence in
/ himself and the extraordinary precis-
ion with which every movement is ex-
| ecuted. His judgment Is so perfect that
| he scarcely ever makes mistake.
! Necessity has been his grim school
master, for 1t is, of course, easy to
see that when leaping from ledge to
ledge along the face of precipice the
/ least error in calculating either his
/ distance or the amount of muscular
| force to be exercised would instantly
! prove fatal. This is branch of the
study of natural history which has a
peculiar fascination for me, and which
the more | think Of il. fills me with
admiration and amazement What a
mathematician the goat would make
/ N he could only tell us the process
by means Of which he performs his
feats. senior wrangler of a Smith 8
prtzeman would be nowhere beside
I HiiAs i<ti ms DI16UN, 10
4 point out the nature of certain prob
lens which he is in the habit of solv-
Ing witE absolute accuracy at a mo-
ments notice. Surprising goat, fol-
lowing a new path, has to take a leap
so as to alight on a pinnacle or mar
row crag overhanging some abyss.
First OF all he must estimate the dis
tAnrn n hn truu hn,
II, whether by trigonometry or by some
capriclous method of his own. he has
next TO compute, to the fraction OF an
ounce, how much propulsive force is
required to project his body (the ex-
act weight of which has to be taken
into aecounD precisely that distance,
and not quarter of an inch further.
/ Moreover, he must take into calcula-
ton whether the spot he wishes to
reach is above or below his starting
point, and plainly his brain, when 1t
sends forth motor impulses to the nu-
merous muscles involved, must be-
ftrehand reckon and apportion to each
| Its share in the task. At the same
moment he must also estimate the ex-
act proportionate amount of muscular
4 force which will be required in each
OF his limbs to stop and balance his
body on his new and precarious foot
/ hold. OF course, one need scarcely say
that the whole process goes on with
out reaching the Consciousness of the
goat, or anything that could, even by
courtesy, be called his mind. But, new
ertheless, 1t ia obvious that, in some
way or other, the calculation is made,
and is completed in time and with
an unerring accuracy which complete
/ ly puts to shame the mathematical trl-
umphs of the human intellect.