Asymptote

Some days I feel that the asymptote is the mathematical model for my writing career.

What is an asymptote? Googling the word results in many links but few clear definitions. An asymptote is a line that a curve approaches, getting ever nearer, but never crossing, even if you extend the curve to infinity. Now the metaphor is obvious.

A favorite example of an asymptote is y = 1/x because it has both vertical and horizontal asymptotes. As you make x smaller and smaller, y gets larger and larger. But when x becomes zero, y is infinity. You can't plot infinity, so you never intersect the y-axis. The same is true for the x-axis, but this blog post is getting pretty nerdy, so I'll stop here.

What is the solution to an asymptotic career? Change the equation!