"Hello fuckface."
"Hello cuntdodger."
Alex, despite his English accent (thrust upon him by his English born parents), is as Scottish as a haggis. So, having recently been on an International House retreat where one was supposed to learn about other cultures, and how to partake in them, I gracefully join in with the traditional Scottish mode of greeting a friend.
Alex has had a pretty rough time of it since arriving a year ago, but the long story short is that he split up with his wife, who after a six month trial separation period left only a week or two before I arrived. She was still in the states when I arrived in fact, but on the East coast, doing some sightseeing before she went back to her job.
I stayed with him for the first 5 days before my residency at I-House started and he was very good to me - his professorial salary is ample and he had very little to do before term started. It's good to see that academics can still live the life, at least for a few weeks at a time. I may at some point lay out his fundamental views about mathematics in detail, but suffice to say they are inspiring and the main message is that the answer to the question,
'Why is maths so good at describing the way the physical world works?'
is
'Because the physical world is mathematics.'
Much in the same way humus and falafel go so well together because they are made out of the same thing (chickpee), the world is made out of mathematics, and hence mathematics describes it perfectly. The reasoning lies in the links between number theory and incredibly crazy physics. (string theory, quantum, etc.).
In more mundane news, I've started teaching - it's a course for graduate students, but it's designed for students in soft engineering areas or social sciences who need some basic knowledge of probability to do their research. Quite time consuming but very enjoyable when it goes well. And of course, an important source of income. I think I will do okay for money here, but its hard to tell so far.
So, there we go, I managed to write a sensible post. I expect I'll leave it for a while now.
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this is lies, scottish people don't talk like that
ReplyDeletevery informative. But less poetic than the previous entry. Please return to your previous style, envy-inspiring though it was.
ReplyDeletePS It is definitely a perfect 26 degrees in London all the time as well. Just not necessarily anywhere where I am. I'm walking in the air. Woah woah woah woah woah woah woah.
How can it be that mathematics, being after all a product of human thought independent of experience, is so admirably adapted to the objects of reality?
ReplyDeleteBecause, dear Einstein, the objects of reality are a product of human thought. As is experience. Its all in your head, dudes.
Hello Josh.
ReplyDeleteMaths is the physical world.
But some day, mathematicians will realise that humans don't live in it.
Nevertheless, an appetising thought meal.
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