With Both Direction and Magnitude

“Coming at crime with both direction and magnitude!”

That singular quote from Despicable Me has always stuck out to me. At the time, it was because Vector said it with such enthusiasm and then proceeded to thrust the air while saying “Oh Yeah!” That scene, and on a bigger scale that movie was beloved by many kids at the time including myself. Vector was a good villain, but what makes that quote so great for STEM students is that it’s an accurate definition of a vector.

A vector in Calculus and Physics is seen as an arrow with a direction often found using “theta” and a magnitude which is the length of the vector. When the direction is missing, and there’s only a length, it’s known as a scalar quantity. Vectors are used a lot in physics, denoting various things such as force, velocity, acceleration, and it would take too long to name all the uses of vectors. I remember in AP Physics C Mechanics, it took me so long to understand the concept of vectors but by remembering the quote from Despicable Me, it made it a little easier for me to understand.

Whenever I bring that quote up in real life and say something like, “Did you know that mathematically Vector’s statement is true?” I’m often met with groans and sighs from my friends around me. Maybe it's because I say it too much, but it’s something that does help in the understanding of math and physics which are integral parts of many majors and fields of study. Right now, I am beginning my engineering journey in Calculus 1 and will begin Newtonian Mechanics in the Spring. My direction is towards becoming an engineer and my magnitude is the strength and will to make it to that goal. So in a sense, I suppose I’m a vector as well.