perhaps i should impose some sort of taxation upon my office visitors. how about this: if they visit me when i'm in the middle of a proof, then they should be forced to listen to the rest of it!
nah.
too risky. q:
in mathematical conversations i do a lot of listening. i've decided that it's either
- because of youth and a lack of understanding about most subjects,
- because of selective apathy and a lack of true curiosity about most subjects,
- because i've nothing interesting to say about most subjects and it's easier to hear what others have to say.
it's fascinating to watch someone who's really excited about a particular theorem or a problem, especially amongst the crowd here in ann arbor.
so many people,
truly willing to learn,
truly caring about what they do.
it's more likely that people would ask me questions, rather than the converse. i'm not a sage or oracle; i just don't often think of questions.
some people have a knack for questions, but not me. i've no mind for good questions or research problems, not yet at least.
when i work on math, it's not quite problem-solving. sometimes i think i've lost that skill; i've certainly lost any skill at exam-taking, at least. when i work on math, it reminds me of creative writing instead.
i start somewhere and it's like writing a good opening line: a beginning. i might do a simple example, which is like one scene unfolding, with un-introduced actors in media res. the plot thickens: is there a back story to the scene, what we just witnessed? or is it just a random event and should we leave it alone?
come on. it's never a random event.
and so it goes; that's how i do math, at least before i felt i had to write a good thesis. (:
[1] which is not entirely true. the office is more like a base of operations. i always intend to remain at my desk, be diligent, and work, but often it doesn't go as planned. often i set my coat and bookbag down, and then i'm due somewhere else.
in fact, often the only plans which work out involve coffee.
3 comments:
I like your analogy with creative writing.
thanks, saara. it has the unintended consequence, though, that nobody ever wants to read my work notes.
"too many words."(;
Sounds like mine... ;)
As it is I haven't been working on my thesis for a long while but I have been writing course notes. I tend to blow up back stories and problem set ups and such waaay out of proportions. But who says math shouldn't be a nice read???
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