I'm already feeling guilty for not working on my mathematics for over two days.
Never mind the fact that I make little progress when I am in Ann Arbor, either in the office, at home, or at the coffeehouse(s). At least I'm putting in the effort, you know? Now I just feel lazy and unoriginal, despite the additional fact that I don't prove any exceedingly original or surprising results, much less use any original techniques or methods of proof.
I also feel ground, or rather, firmly stuck in reality. I observe matter and motion, sufficiently macroscopic to suit Newton's Laws, and I listen to small scheduling conflicts which are more stress from the complexity of planning for six people than any real chore: nothing truly worth worrying about.
As a result I feel like my imagination has shut down temporarily; it's gone on holiday just as my physical body has, and I miss visualizing in my mind's eye how Lipschitz manifolds should fit together .. specifically n-spheres at the moment, but you know what I mean .. well, probably not, but you get my point.
Strangely, "visualizing" probably isn't the best word, here. I can't actually visualize a Sobolev space, though I can imagine the standard diagram of smooth manifolds, their charts, and transition map arrows. I suppose that is precisely why I feel this laziness: not being able to see the result easily, I still want to understand a few Sobolev space results easily, which means I should sit my @$$ down and grind out the damned computations.
5 comments:
a wise man i know would tell me to enjoy the family visit and take the time off (usually a week). i was initially confused: was this not the man who wanted me to work hard and long, now telling me to take 5 days off for thanksgiving, or a week off for the summer? i realized that one needs this time to avoid burnout. much like the way an air conditioner, furnace or gas oven cycles its heating/cooling, a mathematician should do the same. dont waste your free time feeling guilty, but use it to springboard to doing good work when you return.
I think I know what you mean.
A wise man (distinct from the one you've mentioned) told me about 1 1/2 weeks ago to take some time off.
Maybe it's an inherent difficulty with taking orders: I don't know, but I agree with your sentiments. As for how to "use it to springboard," I'm still wondering how one actually does that ..
if you ever find out, let me know, cuz i sure the hell want to. maybe "the time off will enable you to work harder and better since you are well rested, not unlike a baseball player who takes the night off to recover from general lethargy.
Jasun, why not take this time to read something altogether outside of your chosen discipline? You may find inspiration where you least expect it. Related to the question of whether 'pure' mathematics is categorically distinct from other academic fields; some philosophers and cognitive scientists have argued that even mathematics is ‘embodied’. That is to say, that the mathematical concepts we are able to entertain are circumscribed by mental and biological architecture. The pursuit of turning these structures of consciousness transparent may yield fruitfully in the Math department, and beyond..
Post a Comment