"Mathematics for Human Flourishing"

I just read Francis Su's address from the 2017 Joint Mathematics Meetings as the conclusion of his tenure as Mathematical Association of America (MAA) president. This is an important read for those of us teaching mathematics at universities (and for many others).

(Tip of the cap to Susan Holmes.)

My 'Leaving Speech' for Somerville College

This is my short leaving speech in the SCR last night. I forgot to mention a couple of things --- e.g., about thoughts on trying to convince me to do something with the argument of "convention", my inability to pick up social cues in a place that relies on them so much and the hilarity that would subsequently ensue, and especially about how wonderful it has been to work so closely with such talented students in Somerville! --- but I didn't prepare anything either, because I figured I would just say what was on my mind.

Also there were some nice comments from our Senior Tutor first.

(Thanks to Jonathan Marchini for recording this and circulating to Somerville's governing body today.)

RIP Ray Bradbury (1920-2012)

Ray Bradbury died today. Here is his wikipedia page.

I really need to read Farenheit 451 at some point. I've intended to for years, but I have not yet managed to get around to it---this is especially true because my skype id is inspired by that title along with my own attempt at irony.

On this day, it is worth reading Ray Bradbury's awesome 2000 commencement speech at Caltech, which I had the pleasure to watch. On the topic of commencement speeches, which are rather seasonal nowadays, two other ones I got to witness are Bill Nye's 1998 speech at Caltech (that was the year I graduated) and Sandra Tsing Loh's 2005 speech at Caltech. Finally, let me also mention that one of my dynamical systems contemporaries D.J. Patil (who, alas, no longer studies dynamical systems and now works in industry) was given the incredible honor of giving this year's commencement speech at University of Maryland (whence he got his Ph.D. as a member of the infamous Chaos Group). I was unable to find Nye's speech quickly via Google, so please post a link in the comments if you're able to find one. (I really need to get back to work.)

(Tips of the cap for Jaideep Singh [who posted Bradbury's commence speech], Ryan Mack [whose post informed me more directly about Bradbury's death], and D.J. Patil [for posting a link to the text of his speech.)

What Education is Supposed to Be

I could rant on and on about this, but let me instead just to a recent high school valedictorian speech, which I won't debase by calling a rant. This student described what education is supposed to be far better than I ever could.

As for my reaction to this speech, all I have to say is: Amen!

I am sure I am sometimes guilty of some of this stuff with my own teaching, though I try not to be. Also, some of the points in this essay chime rather well with what I always appreciated at Caltech. I worked really hard and it could be a royal pain in the ass, but that is part of the price of encouraging independent thinking. There is typically a ton of hard work that needs to go with it in order to help such efforts work.

(Tip of the cap to Greg Fricke, who once had to put up with my attempts at teaching. I still wish that I brought that pillow to class one day in order to assist with your sleeping!)

40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 Minutes

Here is a pretty cool YouTube video showing 40 inspirational speeches in 2 minutes. It doesn't have all of the ones I wanted to see (there's nothing about lollygagging, for instance), but it's pretty cool nonetheless.

(Tip of the hat to Rob Neyer.)