4-25-04 3:54 PM

I don't usually put pictures up on this site, but this needs to be done: look.

4-25-04 1:43 AM

I've realized that lately, I've actually been pretty diligent about my studies. I still hate doing work - that much will never change - but I have at least found a way to motivate myself, especially for my math and science classes.

On my desk and on my bookshelf there are a few books that I can open to an arbitrary page and instantly be motivated to go forward with whatever work I'd been procrastinating.

The book that moves me most - so much so that I give it partial credit in my choosing to add a major in math to my plans - is The Man Who Loved Only Number, by Paul Hoffman. It is a biographical work about one of the greatest mathematicians of recent times, Paul Erdös. Of course, I am by no means anything like Erdös, but his greatness and single-minded focus inspire me to quit my bitching and do my work, so that one day I may add to the world of math an infinitesimal fraction of the amount that he did.

Another book that serves a similar purpose is A Mathematical Mystery Tour, by A. K. Dewdney. This fictional account of a man in search of the origins and meanings of math is a little strange, in my opinion, but still served the purpose of expanding my thinking about the purity and uncanny usefulness of math. In particular, its semi-historical accounts of Pythagoras greatly inspire me, in that I marvel at how he accomplished so much math with such primitive methods. This reminds me that so much amazing and wonderful math already exists that I am an ingrate if I complain about learning it; to do so is a insult to the memory of the mathematicians who dedicated their lives to its creation.

In The Code Book, by Simon Singh, I am presented with Alan Turing's brilliance in applying mathematics to the deciphering of the Enigma. When I think about how mathematicians helped win WWII, I am far less likely to sit on my ass and procrastinate doing a little bit of linear algebra homework.

Then there is the four volume, multi-thousand page collection called The World of Mathematics, compiled by James R. Newman. I have only started going through it, but every page is ripe with examples of why I shouldn't be whining that the math that I am learning is difficult. So many brilliant mathematicians have created so much brilliant math over the years that I have no choice but to feel small and useless when reminded of it. I, however, am not one to give up to feelings of inferiority, and so, I try to catch up to my idols by learning more.

Rounding out this collection is a new acquisition I just made from The Strand, a rather ambitions work titled The Rainbow of Mathematics, by the oddly named Ivor Grattan-Guinness. An idea of its scope can be gleaned from the title under which it was previously titled: The Norton History of the Mathematical Sciences. Grattan-Guinness, in about 700 pages, attempts to chronicle the evolution of mathematics from ancient times all the way up to the great war. I cannot comment on his success, being that I have only just started reading, but turning to random pages still summons familiar names and theorems along with the associated motivational emotions they invoke.

I would recommend all of these books to anyone who is considering a career in any mathematical science. Additionally, I would really recommend these books as a method of self-motivation, in those inevitable moments of lethargy or desperation when the increasingly complicated mathematical concepts that we are learning seem too difficult or tedious; a quick glance through any of these books serves to remind that others have been there before, and have done a damn good job at it, too.

I don't know about you, but that's about as good a motivation as I can get.

4-20-04 4:42 PM

Yeah, so things have been happening, and I haven't really been writing about them.

Ilona and I have now been together for over a year. There isn't really much I can say about that now; nothing that has ever happened to me has so pervasively changed my life as she has, and so attempting to discuss what she means to me would be the same as discussing the importance of food or water. So I won't.

Onto something completely different: Next year, I am going to be living in room 107 of University Ct., on 25th street between 1st and 2nd avenues. This is about 20 streets and 3 Avenues away from where classes are held, and so is a little bit of a walk, so winter should be fun. My roommate is going to be Sasha, who is almost certainly smarter than you. Also, he's from Maine, and has a Jew-fro. His site is one click away if you go to my links page: enjoy.

Speaking of links, I'm removing Jon S from mine, because he never fucking updates. Other non-updaters are also in danger of being banished from the hallowed ground that is my links page. So there!

Well, that's it for now.

Bye

4-19-04 3:46 PM

My schedule ... I rock:

4-11-04 2:30 PM

Well, I'm back from Virginia.

For those of you who are unaware, Ilona and I went on a vacation to Virginia last week, to celebrate our first year together, coming up on the 17th.

The trip was divided roughly into two parts: Williamsburg and Shenandoah National Park.

First, we drove to Williamsburg, and spent the day at Busch Gardens and The College of William and Mary, with Matt D. Busch Gardens, while fun, is definitely not worth the price of admission, which is an outrageously high $46. It has around four major rides, only one of which was really good. As for the college, well ... it has a very pretty, very boring campus. I guess that's what you get when you are not in a major city. It is interesting to note that the major after-dark gathering place seemed to be the neighborhood Wawa. The people there were interesting enough, highlighted by a kid who thinks that a prerequisite for greeting someone is to shove one's hand down one's pants. Interesting. Also, Matt apparently has acquired the nickname "Sketchy." Wonderfully done!

Shenandoah was something entirely different. Ilona and I decided that it would be fun to go camping for a few days. Many people warned us that it would be cold this early in the season. They were right. Although most of the region is already warm, the campground that we stayed at is at an elevation of approximately 3500 feet, and so was freezing. In fact, the temperature dipped below freezing during the night. Consequently, we spent only the first night sleeping in our tent, and spent the next night sleeping in the back of the car (my mom's old Ford Taurus station wagon).

Besides the cold, the highlights of the camping involved surviving for two days on six hotdogs, 5 yogurts, and 5 sandwiches, and one partially raw potato. The hotdogs had to be turned on the grill by hand, because we had no utensils. Also, the cheese for the sandwiches was cut by a CD, because we had no knife. Good times!

Actually, they were good times. The trip was a huge amount of fun. Improvising a vacation as you go is much more fun than sticking to a rigid schedule. And being under-prepared is much more fun than having everything you need; improvising solutions and making due with what we brought was probably the most bonding and fun part of the trip. Of course, I suppose it wouldn't have been fun if we actually froze and starved, but in small doses, such discomforts just give an opportunity to feel a sense of accomplishment. And it's fun too.

However, the most amazing thing about the trip (except Ilona, of course) was the sky. Wow! I have never seen so many stars in my life. On our second night camping, the cold dry air conspired with our elevation and separation from city lights to give an absolutely incredible view of the stars. I won't get into it, but every stereotypical description of an amazing night sky was true. And the exclamation point at the end was a shooting star, punctuating just how much better the sky there is than the sky here. So that was great.

Um .. so that's about it. Our little vacation was wonderful, and I loved it. And I'm sure that you're all thoroughly bored by now ... o well.