Tom Lehrer: The Elements

Tom Lehrer earned a BA and MA in mathematics from Harvard during the late 1940s, then taught math courses at MIT, Harvard, Wellesley, and UC-Santa Cruz. Math was his vocation. But, all along, Lehrer nurtured an interest in music. And, by the mid 1950s, he became best known for his satirical songs that touched on sometimes political, sometimes academic themes.

“The Elements”, recorded in 1959, features Lehrer reciting the names of the 102 chemical elements known at the time (we now have 118), and it’s all sung to the tune of Major-General’s Song from The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan. Here is Lehrer’s original tune set to some animation created in 2007.

(Source: Open Culture)

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2017/03/10/video-of-the-week-tom-lehrer-we-will-all-go-together-when-we-go/

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/04/14/tom-lehrer-teaches-the-new-math/

Video

1 Comment (+add yours?)

  1. Trackback: Tom Lehrer Teaches ‘The New Math’ | Ed Cyphers

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