Expository Writing #1: 
How Far a Goose Flies

This is, in my opinion, my best college application essay.  I have not found a way to make this essay fit the usual 500 words.  Nonetheless, I think this essay shows that I am an inquisitive person.  I first became aware of the “Goose Problem” from my MIT interviewer.  The interviewer, who is a retired electrical engineer, characterized the problem as what an MIT education is all about.  I ended up sending this essay to all my colleges.

Sometimes, we get so caught up with why we solve a problem that we miss the simple joy of solving problems.  Often, the most interesting problems are ones that could have no apparent practical application.  A while ago, I encountered such a problem that has intrigued me ever since: how far can a goose fly on an hour’s feeding?

At first, it is not apparent why we should trouble ourselves with this problem.  In my opinion, asking why would be missing the point.  Math and science are filled with examples of advances made as a result of work on a problem that seemed to have no use but turned out to have previously unimagined applications.  Consider, for example, the Königsberg bridge problem: is it possible to traverse the seven bridges of Königsberg without visiting a bridge twice?  In order to solve that useless bit of trivia, Euler invented a very useful branch of mathematics, graph theory.  If instead he had asked himself, “Who cares?” graph theory may not have appeared for another century.

Once we get over asking, “Who cares?” we see how complex and interesting our goose problem gets.  Some factors of this problem are readily apparent.  First, how much food must the goose eat?  Of course, the goose must eat enough so that he can travel a reasonable length of time.  But feed him too much, and he will be so weighed down with food that he will be unable to fly.  After considering the amount of food, we must ask what food the goose should eat.  Ideally, he should eat some light but high-calorie food.  We must also look at how the goose’s metabolism will function as a result of the different kinds of food.  Most likely, the goose should eat carbohydrates, or we might consider synthesizing the ideal light but high-calorie food.

More questions remain, though.  Should the goose feed continuously for the whole hour?  Or should he feed for 15 minutes and digest the food for 45 minutes before flying?  It makes sense that the food intake should be distributed evenly to reduce the strain on his organs, but giving him a period of rest before exercising might be advisable as well.  Furthermore, should the food be given in chunks, powder, or a liquid form?  We could even feed him intravenously.

Some who interpret the word “feed” generously might even tempt the goose with a cocktail of stimulants to expedite the goose’s neural processes and maximize his performance.  Even just simple caffeine might keep him wide-eyed during the long flight.  We could even get him to swallow a ground-controlled electronic device that would transmit impulses to his brain, thus guiding his flight.

We do encounter some obstacles when we try to test out our hypotheses.  First of all, what incentive is there for the goose to fly until he drops dead of exhaustion (yes, we do hope for experimental reasons that the goose will try as hard as it can.)?  Moreover, we cannot control two very important factors: the goose’s determination and motivation.  It would be ludicrous to try to use the same goose for all our experiments to account for these lurking variables.

After so much consideration, was this all just mental gymnastics?  No, people like Lance Armstrong would certainly be interested in the answer.  Moreover, this problem is a metaphor for the problem in efficiency in a variety of cases, and we could easily extend it to the amount of fuel on a jetliner.  Surely, in this experiment, there is much result to be devoured and digested with every goose.