T.C. Mits

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T.C. Mits (acronym for "the celebrated man in the street")[1], is a term coined by Lillian Rosanoff Lieber to refer to an everyman. In Lieber's works, T.C. Mits was a character who made scientific topics more approachable to the public audience.

The phrase has enjoyed sparse use by authors in fields such as molecular biology[2], secondary education [3], and general semantics[4].

[edit] The Education of T.C. MITS

Dr. Lillian Rosanoff Lieber wrote this treatise on mathematical thinking in twenty chapters. The writing took a form that resembled free-verse poetry, though Lieber included an introduction stating that the form was meant only to facilitate rapid reading, rather than emulate free-verse. Lieber's husband, a fellow professor at Long Island University, Hugh Gray Lieber, provided illustrations for the book.[5] The title of the book was meant to emphasize that mathematics can be understood by anyone, which was further shown when a special "Overseas edition for the Armed Forces" was published in 1942, and approved by the Council on Books in Wartime to be sent to American troops fighting in World War II.[6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Mathematics for Mits - TIME (1944-04-03). Retrieved on 2008-05-07.
  2. ^ Bentley R (2005). "The development of penicillin: genesis of a famous antibiotic". Perspect. Biol. Med. 48 (3): 444–52. PMID 16089021. 
  3. ^ The Importance of Writing Well -- Goldstein 63 (423): 93 -- NASSP Bulletin. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
  4. ^ Bruce I. Kodish, Ph.D.. Changing Reputations: Demarginalizing General Semantics. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
  5. ^ Lillian Lieber, The Education of T.C. MITS (Philadelphia: Paul Dry Books Incorporated, 2007).
  6. ^ Barry Mazur. Introduction to The Education of T.C. MITS by Lillian Lieber (Philadelphia: Paul Dry Books Incorporated, 2007).