Search:

Yes, naturally it depends a lot on personal taste. I don't think Dostoevsky was really trying to make an argument about the aesthetic value of math, at least not in Brothers K. The math references...

There definitely is a lot of hard slogging in mathematics, and I agree that mathematics is quite different from Shakespeare or Mozart. I don't agree, however, that the triangle example from...

Very interesting article. As Thompson notes in that article, Dostoevsky uses mathematics mainly as a symbol for materialism, and but does not explore the actual ideas from mathematics like...

Thanks for the suggestions!


Of course I didn't mean to upset anyone. :) Surely the only people that would take offense are those that value logical rigor, but those people can either a) smile...

Flatland is definitely a classic work of mathematical fiction. It's also very appropriate for Bayley's article about Dodgson's attitude to "new" mathematics. Abbott's Flatland is essentially an...

Amidst all the fuss about the new Alice in Wonderland movie, I came across the following article postulating that many of the wacky scenes are parodies of new developments in mathematics in Lewis...

Maybe we are just talking in circles. Let me try to clarify.

Here is what I thought you were/are trying to say:


You can't remove the song lyrics from the music itself.
Reason 1. When you...

I agree that there are common forms of song, and I agree that the repetition of lyrics found in many songs are closely related to the form of the song. I disagree that the lyrics are usually...

It's interesting that you compared this song to Shakespeare. I wonder if there is something specific that you have in mind about the song that reminds you of Shakespeare?

For one, the verses have...

Boat Behind -- Kings of Convenience

Sounds like an interesting parallel novel. Good luck!

I'm truly sorry to hear of your loss.

This may already be too late, but here are a couple of passages that I find inspiring.

First, from The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. It's...

What a coincidence! That's basically my method now, too.

That was my original system before I discovered the far better system that Virgil described.

I vote for putting Koestler under...

I think The Life Aquatic had some of the most outlandish scenes in Wes Anderson's movies. For example, the unforgettable pirate scenes (when Zissou gets them off his ship and when they go rescue...

Yes, absolutely. I always find your posts insightful and interesting. I'm sorry I haven't had enough time lately to comment. I hope you keep it up, though -- you have at least one regular reader!

One of my favorites is boing boing. It regularly features art, and it has a bohemian vibe in general. Politics and other serious issues crop up often, too, and it is clearly left-leaning, so your...

Here Comes the Sun -- The Beatles

Draconian, for disproportionately harsh punishments;

Machiavellian, for amoral political maneuvering;

Calvinistic, for deterministic beliefs;

Sapphic is an interesting one, to describe...

Interesting observations. I think it is clear that the translator was not using the words 'knights' and 'history' in a rigorously technical way.

While they (probably) did not belong to orders or...

Wonderful photos, Idril! All that frozen vastness -- very sublime.

That's wonderful! In case anyone is curious, this music is quite ancient indeed -- it survives on a papyrus from around 200 BC.

That would definitely be fun! Unfortunately, it will probably take me a while to relearn it, especially since I never got around to writing down my fingerings (some of it was quite tricky, if I...

That's great that you play the first fugue now. I expect any day now you'll post a recording of your performance here ;). I made a little bit of progress on the guitar, but life got in the way, and...

I like Gardiner and Herreweghe, too; they have recorded Bach extensively and rarely disappoint.

Yes, I've heard all of those versions, too (even the Loeki Stardust Quartet), and I never tire of...

Two of my favorite Bach cantatas are BWV 4, "Christ lag in Todes Banden", and BWV 106, "Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit". Both of these were composed while Bach was in his early twenties, when...