A Spectral Navigation Algorithm

Clearly, some users of London's transportation system are using a spectral algorithm for navigation.

(Tip of the cap to Sang Hoon Lee.)

Anagram Tube Map

Here is a map of the London Underground (aka, the Tube) with an interesting twist: all of the stations are presented using anagrams of their actual names.

(Tip of the cap to Alan Champneys.)

Oxford, Not London!

I dedicate my version of this meme to everybody who has ever asked me what it's like to live in London. :)

Update: It occurs to me that I should create one of these with a complex systems or networks theme. :)

Update (1/26/13): Here is attempt 1 at one with a complex systems theme. I think it's ok, but I also think I can do better. Attempt #2 is a slight improvement (thanks to Mariano Beguerisse Díaz for the suggestion), though I still think the whole thing can be improved greatly.

Bicycles in London: eBourbaki mathematical modeling contest

Eliana Hechter of eBourbaki just sent me an e-mail about the following:

e-Bourbaki, "a mathematical problem-solving firm whose mission is to solve the world's mathematical problems using contests to inspire innovation and creativity", sponsors a mathematical modeling contest every spring and the recently-announced 2008 contest pertains to bicycles in London.

I encourage any and all mathematics students to participate in this!

Here is what Eliana wrote in her e-mail:

I am writing to inform you about an upcoming contest for students of
mathematics, computer science, and engineering in the United
Kingdom. The contest, which asks students to mathematically model a
low-cost bicycle rental service for the City of London, will
commence at 5pm on Monday, May 5, 2008 and end at 5pm on Monday, May
12, 2008. We hope that you will encourage the students with whom you
have contact to participate.

The first prize is ?1000 and winning projects may have the potential
to be implemented as London strives to become more sustainable and
efficient in its transportation infrastructure.

The contest is hosted by eBourbaki, a mathematical problem-solving
website I founded dedicated to increasing interest and involvement
in mathematics in the global community, and is sponsored by Winton
Capital. Further information can be found at our website,
www.ebourbaki.com. Participation in the contest requires contestants
to register with eBourbaki website and we encourage participants to
do so as soon as possible, to stay informed about contest details.

In the past others have used eBourbaki questions as part of their
teaching program, or as a 'final project' for applied modeling
classes. We are happy to work with professors if they choose to
consider this option.

Other visiting friends

I meant to blog last term about a couple of other high school friends who visited me last term. Mimi Harris (who I hadn't seen since my ten-year high school reunion in October 2004), who overlapped with me both at Beverly High and a couple of years at Hawthorne elementary school, went to London on business in November, so I hopped onto the train and went to London to hang out with her and one of her friends (who hitched a ride with Mimi during a layover in New York). This is the day that I finally came to understand the glory of the "mind the gap" meme (I really want to get one of the shirts with that...), and I also created my own meme when we visited the Tate Modern. In one of the abstract art sections (I can't remember the official name of the general type of art in that section of the museum) was a painting that consisted of a brown background with a few orangish stripes. A nearby picture by the same artist had the same background and a single orangish stripe. I was pondering how little effort this took and how pointless this was (and was also reminded of a brilliant scene with John Malkovich in a recent indie movie in which he was an arist and a teacher as a prestigious art school), and every so often when I was ranting about how pointless this picture was, I reiterated (in defense of my opinion) the line, "But it's just a fucking stripe!" OK, so this probably doesn't seem particularly funny at all with the above description, but it became a meme (at least for the day) and was funny then. Or at least I thought it was funny, and the my companions got at least some amusement out of my caustic commentary. I guess that made the painting worth it after all (given the enjoyment that ranting about it gave me), but I still think that that particular piece of "art" is pointless.

Late last term, Maria King (opera singer extraordinaire) took the train down to Oxford to hang out with me for a few hours. She came down from London, which she was visiting from her temporary (few-month) home in Germany. She's now back in her regular home in New York City. Anyway, we hung out for a while and had fun.

Hmmmm... I think that this blog entry would have been much better if I had written about it several weeks ago the way I intended. Ah well, the important message is the following: I hung out with my old friends and had fun. I look forward to a lot more of that!

Visit from Danny

My friend Danny Schwarzblatt, who I have known since I was 4 years old, visited me for a few days last week.

We spent Saturday and Sunday in London. Here are some pictures from those two days. Notice that the Caltech emblem on my jacket is glowing in every shot, almost like some heavenly light is emanating from me. (This jacket has a long history of doing this. It's simply divine.)

By the way, my favorite picture by far from this online album is this one, in which I strike a victorious pose. The shot isn't centered, but when it comes to style points it wins handily.

The visit was quite fun, although my work sadly continued to pile up while I was gone and I am still trying to catch up so I can do more research. (Of course, my plans for my first scientific book are crystalizing and I might already get a deal to do it from Princeton University Press when I go to the Joint Mathematics Meetings in January.) We saw a lot of really neat architecture in London (well, duh) and we ate some really good toads-in-the-hole (sausages and mashed potatoes in Yorkshire pudding) at a local pub that Charlie Chaplin apparently used to frequent. On the way back from London on the second day (we took the train from Oxford on both days), we met a crazy 16-year old named Lucy who is waaaaaaay too immature to be traveling on her own to London. (In some ways, it was good that she has ADD because otherwise I would have been stuck spending more than just a few minutes helping her on her math homework... long story.) Back in Oxford, we walked around to a bunch of places -- including stuff I hadn't had the time to explore before. We went to the top of the St. Mary church tower (whatever the building is exactly called) and the view was spectacular! (In fact, many of the locales in both Oxford and London are really spectacular to look at. It's really one of the great perks of being here --- just walking around and soaking up the history while trying to bring my newfangled style to the place.) Now I just need to find someone with the proper key so that I can see the view from the top of Magdalen College... I also made it a point to have Danny as a guest at High Table so he could see what that is like and to have a dinner with the Monday young'uns crowd in Somerville.

I still need to blog on my first trip to London a few weeks ago (and give a review of The Darjeeling Limited, which I highly recommend), but I'll do that later. I also still need to finish writing an exam, be an Examiner, interview students, and play Zelda:Twilight Princess (not to mention work on Legends IV...).

If you want more details about shenanigans during Danny's visit, let me know.