Math Apocalypto
December 15th, 2006 by WaltI take a few days vacation, and I see (via Scott Aaronson) and things promptly spin out of control. Now people are publicly dividing by zero. I shudder to think what would have happened if I’d been gone for a full week.
December 16th, 2006 at 8:34 pm
Appropo of solving important problems in mathematics, I see that Rudy Rucker’s new book Mathematicians in Love is (IMHO) his funniest since Master of Space and Time.
Thus, Rucker has solved the following important problem: the problem of holiday gift-giving for the young mathematicians in your life!
December 17th, 2006 at 12:35 pm
If you’d been away for more than a week the reals would have become countable, 0.9 recurring would have become less than 1 and someone would have found a counterexample to Fermat’s Last Theorem.
Next time take a month’s vacation, then mathematics would become really interesting.
December 18th, 2006 at 1:12 am
I’m glad I got back when I did. I wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on Time Magazine naming me their Person of the Year.
December 20th, 2006 at 11:09 am
What are you talking about? You must have received the wrong copy of Time because I assure you it was me who was named Person of the year.
December 30th, 2006 at 2:25 pm
Another imaginary number?