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Stretch Drive
Apr. 22nd, 2011 09:21 amThe semester is winding down; there's one more week of classes, and then finals. Because of the week that we lost to snow earlier, I'm having to rush a bit in both classes. In the history of math class, I'm just now getting into the history of logic, leading up to Cantor, Russell, and the Logicist/Formalist/Intuitionist split. I'm not sure I'll even be able to get to that last bit, and I certainly won't be able to say much about the 20th century. I also had to sacrifice the planned third round of group assigments. In differential geometry, I covered the local version of Gauss-Bonnet last night; I'll prove the global version next Tuesday, and maybe have time for some applications after that.
It looks like the topology class will fly this summer; I'm probably going to cover some basic homotopy theory. Also, one of my differential geometry students wants to do an advanced readings course in the same subject, at least up to Lie theory. Should be interesting; I'm very rusty in both areas, and it'll be good to refresh my memory. W has offered to help with the readings course; neither of us is a genuine differential geometer, but our backgrounds are different enough that between us we should be able to do a creditable job.
Since finishing the history of the Habsburgs, I've begun a Thomas Merton binge. I bought a bunch of his books back in the early 1980s, read a few of them, then shelved them; I've decided it's time to go back and finally read them all. I've begun by rereading The Seven Storey Mountain, and am in the middle of The Sign of Jonas. I find that I'm a little less comfortable these days with Merton's pre-Vatican II sensibility in these first two books; still, though, it's worthwhile being reminded of some things.
Once I finish reading Midnight's Children, I may go back and reread the Wide Green World books. On the other hand.... Ta-Nehisi Coates has lately gotten into 19th-century English literature, reading Pride and Prejudice and The Age of Innocence and casting a thoughtful eye in the direction of Middlemarch, and his reviews are tempting me to go back and read (TAoI) or reread (the other two). It's been many years since I read any Austen or George Eliot, and I've never read any Wharton.
Meanwhile, the grass is getting shaggy. The team that used to do my mowing retired at the end of last year, and it's taken me until now to get set up with their replacements. The new guys will also mow my fenced-in back yard, but that means I have to be here, to keep the dogs inside. That means Fridays are the only possible day, at least for the next couple of weeks, so they're supposed to come today. Unfortunately, the forecast for today is for strong storms morning and evening, with a respite in the afternoon. I don't know whether they'll be able to get to my lawn today. (They apparently are fully booked on Fridays....) We'll see.
It looks like the topology class will fly this summer; I'm probably going to cover some basic homotopy theory. Also, one of my differential geometry students wants to do an advanced readings course in the same subject, at least up to Lie theory. Should be interesting; I'm very rusty in both areas, and it'll be good to refresh my memory. W has offered to help with the readings course; neither of us is a genuine differential geometer, but our backgrounds are different enough that between us we should be able to do a creditable job.
Since finishing the history of the Habsburgs, I've begun a Thomas Merton binge. I bought a bunch of his books back in the early 1980s, read a few of them, then shelved them; I've decided it's time to go back and finally read them all. I've begun by rereading The Seven Storey Mountain, and am in the middle of The Sign of Jonas. I find that I'm a little less comfortable these days with Merton's pre-Vatican II sensibility in these first two books; still, though, it's worthwhile being reminded of some things.
Once I finish reading Midnight's Children, I may go back and reread the Wide Green World books. On the other hand.... Ta-Nehisi Coates has lately gotten into 19th-century English literature, reading Pride and Prejudice and The Age of Innocence and casting a thoughtful eye in the direction of Middlemarch, and his reviews are tempting me to go back and read (TAoI) or reread (the other two). It's been many years since I read any Austen or George Eliot, and I've never read any Wharton.
Meanwhile, the grass is getting shaggy. The team that used to do my mowing retired at the end of last year, and it's taken me until now to get set up with their replacements. The new guys will also mow my fenced-in back yard, but that means I have to be here, to keep the dogs inside. That means Fridays are the only possible day, at least for the next couple of weeks, so they're supposed to come today. Unfortunately, the forecast for today is for strong storms morning and evening, with a respite in the afternoon. I don't know whether they'll be able to get to my lawn today. (They apparently are fully booked on Fridays....) We'll see.
