My husband said it was a lovely article but I got sidetracked by events in the Oval Office and a birthday!
Just finished reading it now. As always you always leave a smile on my face. It was a lovely gentle informative article beautifully written, a pleasure to read as an escape from the awfulness that is currently happening. Thank you.
I think the most charitable explanation of Hardy is that he was personally depressed and feeling his own mortality having had a heart attack, but I'm not sure it generalises 85 years later.
In terms of Talagrand, obviously he knows a lot more about that level of creativity than I do. But I think there's at least one factor pushing in the opposite direction, which is that a lot of the interesting stuff these days happens at the boundaries of areas, by bringing ideas from one field to another and so on, so obviously that takes longer the more stuff you need to try to get your head around.
Nice Belle & Sebastian quotes!
Just seeing who is paying attention!
My husband said it was a lovely article but I got sidetracked by events in the Oval Office and a birthday!
Just finished reading it now. As always you always leave a smile on my face. It was a lovely gentle informative article beautifully written, a pleasure to read as an escape from the awfulness that is currently happening. Thank you.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it - and belated happy birthday!
A mate of mine went to see Dylan 20 years ago and is still smarting about his playlist now 🤣
Great piece 👍
Thanks! I think if you go see the Stones say, you can be pretty sure what you are going to get, whereas with Dylan .. not so much
El Cap is pretty hard and some ways of climbing it take as much work - or more - than getting a maths PhD! ;) Nice piece, thanks.
Thanks! It was more than an analogy than anything else, I certainly couldn't make it much off the ground in the Yosemite scenario ...
Just wait for Serre’s Basement Papers to be released.
I'm waiting for the 36 volume box set of all his rough notes from 1966
To be followed, inevitably, by the Marty biopic.
Loving how wide-ranging your articles (essays? think pieces?) have become - edging towards Ian Leslie (The Ruffian) territory*.
*This is a compliment.
Thanks - I only get the non-paywalled version, but happy to take that as a compliment!
I think this one is free to read - it’s one I think I think about a lot. https://www.ian-leslie.com/p/the-struggle-to-be-human
If it makes you feel better, I suspect the average person has no set view on what age mathematicians peak at.
I think the most charitable explanation of Hardy is that he was personally depressed and feeling his own mortality having had a heart attack, but I'm not sure it generalises 85 years later.
In terms of Talagrand, obviously he knows a lot more about that level of creativity than I do. But I think there's at least one factor pushing in the opposite direction, which is that a lot of the interesting stuff these days happens at the boundaries of areas, by bringing ideas from one field to another and so on, so obviously that takes longer the more stuff you need to try to get your head around.