Assorted Afflatuses

My dear friends at the College Board released the November test scores today. I did not score well - at least by my exacting standards. Frankly, I find it incredibly difficult to believe that, after taking the infernal exam three times, I cannot manage to push my math score up into the 680-and-beyond range. My critical reading and writing scores both fall within my acceptable range of 700 to 800 points, however, I seem to lack the necessary test-taking prowess to conquer the mathematics section. At this point, though, I have concluded that my SAT score probably will not make or break my college applications; the admissions folks should manage to realize that, if I manage to survive second-year calculus, I can do math.

And therein lies the irony of my situation: I can do differential and integral calculus with relative ease, yet I cannot determine how many possible seating arrangements exist when twelve people sit down to eat at the dinner table. Or, at least, the College Board claims I cannot. This third lamentable score almost makes me want to order my detailed score analysis; I may never take the SAT again, but, aside from one absurd problem with circles, I felt that I correctly answered each and every mathematics question.