“The Square Root of Three” by David Feinberg
April 26th, 2008
I just finished watching Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay. The poem in the movie, “The Square Root of Three” is the most awesome, clever poem I’ve ever heard. It was written by David Feinberg, according to this story. I must find it.
Update: iamawesome and deb posted it in the comments! Thanks a lot! Here it is:
I’m sure that I will always be
A lonely number like root three
The three is all that’s good and right,
Why must my three keep out of sight
Beneath the vicious square root sign,
I wish instead I were a nine
For nine could thwart this evil trick,
with just some quick arithmetic
I know I’ll never see the sun, as 1.7321
Such is my reality, a sad irrationality
When hark! What is this I see,
Another square root of a three
As quietly co-waltzing by,
Together now we multiply
To form a number we prefer,
Rejoicing as an integer
We break free from our mortal bonds
With the wave of magic wands
Our square root signs become unglued
Your love for me has been renewed
Felipe
April 26th, 2008 at 12:35 am
Hey
Its an awesome poem. IF you find it please send it to my email. If I find it before you i will post it here.
THanks
Raf
April 26th, 2008 at 12:40 am
I think everybody’s searching for it right now.
Haseo
April 26th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
yea ive been looking for it ever since i saw it in the movie last night
sam
April 26th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Everyone IS searching for it. I don’t think they will release it
Melanie
April 26th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
I am looking everywhere too. I think I am just going to see the movie a second time and record the poem so I can write it down..it was that good
Lala
April 27th, 2008 at 1:07 am
im thinking of just downloading a cam-record of a torrent and write the the poem. the movie was funny!
babycapri
April 27th, 2008 at 3:52 am
hi all… same here, I am also looking for the poem!
awesome…
=)
iamawesome
April 27th, 2008 at 5:27 am
I’m sure that I will always be a lonely number like root three
The three is all that’s good and right, why must my three keep out of sight
Beneath the vicious square root sign, I wish instead I were a nine
For nine could thwart this evil trick, with just some quick arithmetic
I know I’ll never see the sun, as 1.7321
Such is my reality, a sad irrationality
When hark! What is this I see, another square root of a three
As quietly co-waltzing by, together now we multiply
To form a number we prefer, rejoicing as an integer
_________________
With the wave of magic wands
Our square root signs become unglued
Your love for me has been renewed
—sorry dont know that one line above with the wave of magic wands
deb
April 27th, 2008 at 6:33 am
The Square Root of 3 by Dave Feinberg
I’m sure that I will always be
A lonely number like root three
The three is all that’s good and right,
Why must my three keep out of sight
Beneath the vicious square root sign,
I wish instead I were a nine
For nine could thwart this evil trick,
with just some quick arithmetic
I know I’ll never see the sun, as 1.7321
Such is my reality, a sad irrationality
When hark! What is this I see,
Another square root of a three
As quietly co-waltzing by,
Together now we multiply
To form a number we prefer,
Rejoicing as an integer
We break free from our mortal bonds
With the wave of magic wands
Our square root signs become unglued
Your love for me has been renewed
deb > iamawesome
April 27th, 2008 at 8:46 am
Thank you Deb!!! My life is now complete
Raf
April 27th, 2008 at 10:19 am
sweet! Thanks!
Viet
April 27th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
OMG THANKS GUYS!
im only 19 but i really do enjoy this poem, hehe, im going to suprise my hold high school calculus teacher with this!
i bet its gonna make her day! THANKS AGAIN GUYS!
lulou
April 27th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
This is an awesome poem! I didn’t know a math poem could sound so romantic ^_^
dwain
April 27th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
…simply amazing
Ankur
April 27th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
woot. mr. Feinberg’s my advisor!! I’m hella proud of him, very good poem.
-Ankur
Harold Lookalike
April 30th, 2008 at 6:55 am
I thought the movie was great, very funny and definitely a step above the previous, while containing the same type of humor. Cult classics instantly. But this poem… I actually cried of laughter. It was so damn funny, and directed so well, it made the movie for me. The first one had a good ending, the hardest part of all movies, but this one was a great ending, a true climax that will make me laugh for years. I was high of course.
Noel
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:14 am
LOve the poem. But isn’t an integer a number that’s indivisible? If so, how could it formed by the union of two numbers? Sorry.
Chris
May 25th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Because it’s the multiplication of two roots, hence forming an integer . . .
Calculator Man
May 31st, 2008 at 12:27 am
The first line is “I fear that I will always be”, not “I’m sure that…”
sarah
June 12th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
haha david feinberg is a teacher at our school
he’s really cool
erika
June 15th, 2008 at 9:17 am
gosh i’ved oweiz love reading poems!!
but this poem i heard when kumar recites it in the movie is
perfectly emotional… its as if i where the one he’s proposing too..
i really loved it a lot..
Rahul
July 14th, 2008 at 5:31 am
@Noel
Integers are the set of all natural numbers (1,2,3…) and their negative counterparts (-1,-2,-3,…) including zero.
voj
August 2nd, 2008 at 4:04 am
First line should be
I fear that I will always be…. instead of I’m sure I …
Harold And Kumar ®
August 6th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
kumar made up the square root of a 3… i know its crazy.. but it also the truth… who even started the roomer about Dave Feinberg writing the poem??
Chat
August 22nd, 2008 at 6:25 pm
nice poem
CC
August 31st, 2008 at 7:58 am
Kumar didn’t make it up - it was that Dave guy who wrote it in high school.
Btw the first line is actually I fear that I will always be…
jh
September 3rd, 2008 at 4:08 pm
I still have the disc in the player:
The producers(?) thank Feinberg for the poem, just after the Music credits. Here’s my editing of the posted version, with several changes including the one mentioned in the first line. The eleventh line is definitely spoken, ‘When arc!…’, but I guess it could also be written, ‘When ‘ark!…’ I cut out a couple of breaks between verses, rather arbitrarily.
“The Square Root of Three” by David Feinberg
I fear that I will always be
A lonely number like root three
A three is all that’s good and right,
Why must my three keep out of sight
Beneath a vicious square root sign,
I wish instead I were a nine
For nine could thwart this evil trick,
with just some quick arithmetic
I know I’ll never see the sun, as 1.7321
Such is my reality, a sad irrationality
When, arc! Just what is this I see,
Another square root of a three
Has quietly come waltzing by,
Together now we multiply
To form a number we prefer,
Rejoicing as an integer
We break free from our mortal bonds
And with a wave of magic wands
Our square root signs become unglued
And love for me has been renewed
Fishing Dude
September 8th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
Sweet poem.
hydoe
September 14th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
haha!!! it’s nice!! is there square root of 7?
Ankit
September 15th, 2008 at 5:46 am
nice of you to put it! awesome movie btw!
Mr Human
September 15th, 2008 at 10:23 am
Crush test dummy
I love the brick wall
Went ahead to smash my head
To get close to my beloved brick wall
Could I be one with the beautiful wall?
My silly and blind imagination for the wall
Yet it stands still and we are still apart
I crush my self with the wall
This time with the arms that just falls
I think for a solution and found my chest
Again my silly imagination for the wall
With all my might and speed ahead
I smash my chest to my beloved wall
Now I lay and my chest crushed
I realized I lost my heart
Embedded in the wall
Yet I m not one with my beloved wall
There she stands proud and tall
And here I lay beside the wall
I now realize that I m just a crush test dummy
MathManiac
October 1st, 2008 at 5:07 pm
its sum not sun….
“I know Iâll never see the sum, as 1.7321″
becuase root 3 = 1.7321
bejay calipni
October 6th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
I LOVE THIS! LIKE OMG
coolbody
October 24th, 2008 at 6:22 am
Nice poem.
Jamie
November 8th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
“The Square Root of Three” by David Feinberg
I fear that I will always be
A lonely number like root three
A three is all that’s good and right,
Why must my three keep out of sight
Beneath a vicious square root sign,
I wish instead I were a nine
For nine could thwart this evil trick,
with just some quick arithmetic
I know I’ll never see the sum, as 1 point 7 3 2 1
Such is my reality, a sad irrationality
When, ark! so what is that I see,
Another square root of a three
Has quietly come waltzing by,
Together now we multiply
To form a number we prefer,
Rejoicing as an integer
We break free from our mortal bonds
And with a wave of magic wands
Our square root signs become unglued
And love for me has been renewed
Jamie
November 8th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
I just corrected some mistakes.
And by the way, i realy loved this poem.
soufie
November 11th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
its freaking awesome..
emrina
November 13th, 2008 at 5:51 am
hey Mr Human.
call me
lenin
November 13th, 2008 at 6:23 am
actually its ’sun’
as in the square root of 3 is under the root, it will never see the ’sun’
cheers
lenin
loving it
Math Man
November 21st, 2008 at 1:32 pm
sarah
June 12th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
“haha david feinberg is a teacher at our school
heâÂÂs really cool”
I’m afraid that’s not possible Sarah, The David Feinberg who wrote this poem was an activist for HIV positive Gay’s in the 90’s. He died in 1994 of aids. He was an accomplished author. Very clever poem though.
cap10 calc
December 15th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
my sincerest condolences on the loss of such a fine and creative poetic mind.
<3
CalcKid
February 12th, 2009 at 4:04 am
Im totally going to spam this out on my calc class’ board since Valentine’s is just around the corner! xD
joe
February 27th, 2009 at 1:51 am
if this is the most awesome poem you’ve ever read, you clearly need to read a lot more poetry, it’s hardly epic. Clever wordplay, but hardly top ten.
styles2224
March 11th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
this poem is, awesome…
vero
March 12th, 2009 at 11:26 am
What movie is this awesome poem in…Harold and Kumar???
vero
March 12th, 2009 at 11:27 am
Nevermind!!! I just read the top of the page…I feel so retarded!!
=P
poetry geek
March 15th, 2009 at 3:26 am
ok, here it is . . . why was this so difficult for everyone?? where do you guys get “ark” from?? Anyone who has ever read Shakespeare or really just knows english (and i really don’t mean this as an insult, i really don’t, but c’mon!), knows the expression “Hark!” at the beginning of a sentence when expressing a call to attention . . .
I fear that I will always be
a lonely number like root 3
A three is all that’s good and right,
why must my three keep out of sight
beneath a vicious square root sign
I wish instead I were a nine
For nine could thwart this evil trick
with just some quick arithmetic
I know I’ll never see the sun
as one point seven three two one
Such is my reality
A sad irrationality
When Hark!
What is this I see?
Another square root of a 3
does quietly come waltzing by
Together now we multiply
to form a number we prefer,
rejoicing as an integer
We break free from our mortal bonds,
and with a wave of magic wands,
our square root signs become unglued
and love for me has been renewed
poetry geek
March 15th, 2009 at 3:29 am
p.s. if anyone finds out which David Feinberg really wrote this (I’m leaning toward the schoolteacher, because I don’t see any published work by the AIDS activist David Feinberg by this title, although he was a very witty writer, it’s always possible . . .), please let us know!!
diabolical
March 22nd, 2009 at 4:12 pm
its the high school teacher
setr84
March 23rd, 2009 at 3:17 am
Well this post is not the end of discussion….
well on this topic we can also discuss more…
but i must want to appreciate the writer of this post that at least he starts to write something about this topic.
Andrew Fitzgerald
March 27th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
yea ive been looking for it
rebeldengpalaka
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:26 pm
i was watching the movie, when i reach the part when kumar stated the poem.. i was so shocked coz the poem was so awesome..
i even kept on pausing the movie just to catch the world words of the poem..
awesome..
dot.dot.dot
April 7th, 2009 at 11:29 am
I know Iâll never see the sun, as 1.7321
Such is my reality, a sad irrationality.
whaat the heck does dat mean?
maths.student
April 11th, 2009 at 8:16 am
The never seeing the sun bit, I assume refers to earlier in the poem where he says “why must my three keep out of sight, beneath a vicious square root sign”.
And root 3 is irrational. So the reality is, that he’s irrational. Also wikipedia says irrationality means: ” The term is used, usually pejoratively, to describe thinking and actions that are, or appear to be, less useful or logical than other more rational alternatives.”. So he thinks as a root of a 3, he’s useless and has to hide out of sight. If only he could be an integer.
when hark! what is this I see …
Kuflu
April 14th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
Nice poem thanks
boo
May 26th, 2009 at 3:53 am
What does this poem really mean? if anyone knows, please explain it to me:)
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June 13th, 2009 at 5:06 am
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ZuE
July 8th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
..love this poem..
..<3
Rhonda
July 12th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Well now I want to learn about square roots and integers and how they work…I wish I’d read this beautiful poem in high school…Thank you so much to David Feinstein. That his work still improves ours is a testament to his well lived life.
pen
July 12th, 2009 at 12:33 am
awesome poem. I have been looking for this ever since i watched the movie when it was released last year. thanks all for the poem.
Taylor Bergerot
July 22nd, 2009 at 4:38 am
When he says “such is my reality, a sad irrationality” he’s refering to the fact that root 3 is an irrational number, meaning it isn’t an integer (i.e. Whole numbers such 1,2,3 etc) and it is not exact, and it’s numbers continue on forever with no rhyme or reason.. A good example of an irrational number is pi (3.14……….)
Hi
July 27th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
Hi all, just watched the movie, ti wasn’t the best ive seen but the poem was, so i couldnt resist but uploaded it to youtube. You can watch it here now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOSwChKvzaU
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Dark3nBlue
August 7th, 2009 at 4:43 am
WTF board games was your post supposed to be here?
This page is for the poem Square root of 3….
BTW love this poem And the Movie tooooo….
Harold and Kumar are so cool …..and Dave Feinberg, Love you man….
Almost forget the coolest man in that movie .. Me idolo………
Neil Patrick Harris … I’ll Go where ever God Wants me to….
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tül perde
September 12th, 2009 at 5:56 am
I thought the movie was great, very funny and definitely a step above the previous, while containing the same type of humor. Cult classics instantly. But this poem… I actually cried of laughter.
haber 16
October 9th, 2009 at 6:17 am
thanks you admin
Belg
October 17th, 2009 at 11:56 am
I’m just 16 years old but this poem is awesome, i’m going to use it on my exame dutch (I live in belguim, flanders) :p
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cmilla
December 11th, 2009 at 11:45 pm
it really worries me that people dont know what an integer is or that there is a square root of 7. perhaps you should have learned that before commenting here.
and this is a really sweet poem. obviously its lost on people who don’t know elementary school math.
Yang-Star
December 16th, 2009 at 8:29 am
I helped them compose this beautiful poem
XxAvenger(WATTABICHE!!!)
December 16th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
Nice poem but… my math teacher tried to make me write a a page response to it for 5 EC on a test. And I said “suck on these nuts BITCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”
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micheal
January 27th, 2010 at 7:48 am
mehhn square root of three, what a poem, first in my history: i had to go thisfar in search of a poem, am in love with it…..
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