Did You Mean Mariah Carey Carey?
By Lindsey Darden
Whoever said that “music is a science” might want to keep quiet for a couple of minutes while we talk about Mariah Carey. While it’s never fun to have everything that comes out of one’s mouth sifted and analyzed, it’s interesting to every once in a while take a peak at the thought process behind a title. When singer Mariah Carey’s album was released to the masses last spring, little did she know that eventually an established mathematician would have something to say about her work.
E=MC2 was the follow-up to Carey’s 2005 release, The Emancipation of Mimi. It apparently strived to be clever via its title – in which E stands for “Emancipation”, while MC2 stands for “Mariah Carey times two.” Nice thought, cute even, except that Dr. David Leslie has this to say:
“The ‘two’ in the equation means C squared, not MC multiplied by two,” he explained. “The correct reading of the equation is E=MCC, so perhaps Mariah’s re-interpretation should have been ‘emancipation equals Mariah Carey Carey‘?”
However nitpicky, the guy does have a point. But we’re a little concerned that it’s taken nine months for anyone to say something. Perhaps we were all distracted by Carey’s red boots to care. Times two or squared, if you’re making enough money on an algebraic mistake to afford Christian Dior boots that clearly can only go with one outfit, then please accept our apologies. You’re free to go – but feel free to leave some of your money-making secrets at the door.
Photo via mariahdaily.com
