Song Parody: "They're Still ODEs to Me"

I felt inspired. :)

E. L. Ince and the State of Differential Equations in England in 1926

E. L. Ince, being snarky about the state of the study of differential equations in England, in the preface of his classic 1926 book on the subject. pic.twitter.com/nLPXLv5mNt

— Mason Porter (@masonporter) October 29, 2018

Excellent Notation for Predator–Prey Dynamics

I approve!

LaTeX is so much better when you have emoji. pic.twitter.com/SYxgUXpWYN

— Mike Bostock (@mbostock) June 2, 2018

(Tip of the cap to Karen Daniels.)

In Phase Space, No One Can Hear You Scream.

My students have their ODE (ordinary differential equation) final tomorrow morning, and I’ve got the perfect shirt to wear for the occasion: "In phase space, no one can hear you scream." pic.twitter.com/79hoysL80A

— Mason Porter (@masonporter) December 14, 2017

Quote of the Day: Conservation of Pain

Me, to my (graduate-level) ODE students in office hours this afternoon:

"The amount of pain is conserved.

[nontrivial pause, while I think about the accuracy of my statement]

(Well, technically, the amount of pain is non-decreasing.)"

Update: This quote was quite a doozy. It's the type of quote that, when my professors accidentally backed into them, I liked to write them down for posterity.

Infinite-Series Techniques: "A Good Psychological Restorative"

Yes, really—at least as prescribed by Drs. Bender and Orszag. Take two of these and call me in the morning.

Infinite-series techniques: "a good psychological restorative"

Prescribed by Drs Bender & Orszag. Take 2 of these & call me in the morning. pic.twitter.com/RH6gk9jh5k

— Mason Porter (@masonporter) October 4, 2017

Update (10/04/17): PBS is now involved (as you can see below).

We agree... 🙃 https://t.co/3wUoBjaUHU

— PBS Infinite Series (@PBSInfinite) October 4, 2017