Goodies

[stoutfellow]

The nice man from the USPS just came by bearing packages. I ran outside and met him halfway - which would not be remarkable, except that it's about 30F out there, and I'm wearing a short-sleeved shirt and am barefoot.

In the packages, the following:

• We Now Know: Rethinking Cold War History by John Lewis Gaddis


• The Accusers, one of Lindsey Davis' "Falco" mysteries


• All the Shah's Men by Stephen Kinzer, an account of the 1953 coup against Mohammad Mossadegh


• Rhapsody: Child of Blood, a fantasy novel by Elizabeth Haydon


• One Hundred Philosophers by Peter J. King


• Analytic Theory of Polynomials by Q. I. Rahman and G. Schmeisser

That last one deserves a bit more of a comment. Last year, I proved a certain theorem, by brute force. I don't understand why it's true, but it definitely is. It's outside my usual haunts, and I'd really like to get a better grasp on it; the book by Rahman and Schmeisser seems likely to help me get that grasp.

It cost $246.

Advanced works in mathematics have such a small market that fixed costs make up an unusually high fraction of the price. There are other factors at work as well, all tending to push price up.

I'm almost sure that it'll be worth it. Almost.

Comments

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

As far as I know, the theorem is original with me. I've drafted an article for publication, but haven't yet submitted it, mainly because of the lack of elegance. I'm aware of some related theorems, and I'm hoping that studying their proofs - in Rahman and Schmeisser - will help me prettify the proof of mine.

[ndrosen.livejournal.com]

Congratulations, and good luck prettifying. I remember a math professor back in college telling me that reductio ad absurdum was not considered the preferred and most elegant way to prove a theorem . . .