a week in the life

Here are some snippets (quotes/pics) from a typical busy, varied week!

I gave a lecture to a first-year calc class on Monday, and according to the two undergrads sitting in front of my prof during the lecture (he asked them afterward what they thought of me): "Deniz [the usual lecturer] is mathematically organized, she seems personally and spiritually organized."

Housemate Sonya brings home desserts for the rest of us!  :)

in discrete math, more fun with words...
Professor: A regular graph is strongly regular if  it's regular and... *pauses*
Classmate: It's strong.

The day *after* Halloween, the pumpkins were free.  So I brought one home and carved it up a day late...

Thursday afternoon: a hailstorm.

Also Thursday afternoon:
Christina (at 5:00): "So I'm going to go work on measure theory with my classmates.  I'm hoping to be home by 7:30."
Christina comes home at 1:30. 

This is what math looks like: four people collaborating on one proof.

My supervisor, today: "So I realized we had that nice long chat about research and so on on Wednesday...and I'm going to be on sabbatical next year." 

The distribution of grades on a rather challenging algebra midterm: 

Going for a walk in the afternoon before the time changes and it gets dark at 5:30...also taking advantage of the rare full sunshine. 

new knowledge

So now that the madness of a house-hunt, move, guests, starting grad school in math and surviving midterms is mostly over, I will hopefully be carving out a wee bit more time to update this thing. But until then, have some quotes from the first half of this first term of big kid grad school.

Wisdom from discrete math...
- On solutions: "After finding it, it is trivial."
- Also on solutions: "It might not be extremely difficult, but it's rare that it's extremely easy."
- On questions: "It's a nice--well, it's a question of taste--question in combinatorics."
- On trial and error: "There is a positive chance I will fail badly. Doesn't matter."

Funny words in algebra...
- While describing large simple groups: "The largest is called...the monster. Denoted capital M."
- On the Sylow (pronounced variously) theorems, of which there are three: "See-low, sigh-low, see-lov, sigh-lov, pee-laf, pi-laf. First theorem, second theorem, red theorem, blue theorem."
- "This strange embedding is going to come from something called mystical pentagrams."

And good times in math 599, the teaching of university math classes...
- On first year students' perception of 'if and only if': "if this, then definitely, definitely!"
- "Seven is a ridiculous number. So is thirteen."
- We've had several guests, who have all been subjected to a quiz including the following question: "To what foodstuff would you compare the teaching of mathematics?" Their answers:
G: "I'll say pufferfish. Because if you prepare incorrectly, it's poisonous."
J: "sugar [...] if you have too much of it, you fall into a coma."
S: "Curry...spicy, yet sustaining at the same time."

But my personal favorite (overheard from my office), has to be:
"It turns out math is hard."

severus snape, meet immanuel kant

Today, I saw the last Harry Potter movie again. Three or four years ago, I took a course on "Kant's Moral Theory in Film and Literature." This is the kind of thing that results.

Snape is one of my favorite characters in the Harry Potter books. Of course at the beginning he was just that professor you love to hate for his irrational prejudice against your heroes, but by the end of book six, when he had seemingly revealed his true colors and betrayed Dumbledore, I knew that the story wasn't over. Little hints, clues suggested that Snape was more than he appeared, a hunch that was confirmed in the seventh book. Snape, as it turns out, was perhaps *the* ultimate example of sacrificial love from the books. Many people die for Harry's sake (including Harry himself), but Snape's sacrifice is perhaps the greatest as it is unknown, unrewarded and uncertain of result.

Snape's actions somehow connected to my memories of college classes in Kant's moral theory. If I remember correctly, one of Kant's ideas about moral behavior was that TRUE moral action was done solely for it's own sake. In other words, if you were doing the right thing because a) it made you feel good or b) you'd feel guilty if you didn't or c) you benefited in any way--that action was not *quite* as moral or good as the action of someone who was acting simply out of duty. (This may be a gross oversimplification or misstatement, but this is what I remember.)

Snape, then, is almost the perfect Kantian moral agent. He receives no benefit from his service to Dumbledore, his protection to Harry--he refuses to be recognized, he doesn't like Harry, and at the very end he is told that all his work has been for nothing, as it were. And yet he continues until the very end, obeying Dumbledore's orders even when he has nothing to gain by it, because he has promised to do so, based on his love for Lily Potter.

I wonder what Immanuel Kant would say to that?

a basic baseball proof

Last year I lived in a city where baseball games featured a race between four US presidents.

(the youtube channel featuring this video is actually DEDICATED to video of the president races. 0_0)

This year I am living in a city where baseball games feature a race between wasabi and two pieces of sushi.

(favorite moment of the video: "this is terrifying.")

Conclusion: Baseball promotions are weird and hilarious. No matter where you live.

at a loss for words

I just finished reading Anna Karenina last night, a project that has taken about a month and a half. It has been one of the best reading projects I've ever undertaken--even when there was excessive detail about Russian agricultural methods, I was still soaking in the world of the story and as I moseyed my way along, there were so many great things to think about, or moments to enjoy. I'm not sure I've ever read a novel that was so satisfying on so many levels--philosophically, culturally, spiritually, emotionally, linguistically.

If I had to describe the story in one word, it would be: coherent. Tolstoy takes a vast array of material--historical events, cultural images, philosophical and political thought, Russian geography, religion, and his cast of characters--and weaves them all together into one story, in an attempt to convey truth as he sees it. Everything in the story conspires to support the grand conclusion reached by Levin in the last chapters of the book, "Now I say that I know the meaning of my life: 'To live for God, for my soul.'" I'd argue that the real heart of Anna Karenina is not Anna herself, but rather Levin and his intellectual journey from idealism and doubt, to realism and faith.

That said, there is so much to the story that shouldn't be crammed into a thematic box. Anna Karenina is first, and foremost, a novel. Tolstoy's characters are all carefully drawn and very real--sometimes in delightful, sometimes in painful ways. I found myself sympathizing with all the characters, even when I disliked them.
There are moments of humor, sarcasm (Tolstoy's sense of irony manages to come through, even in translation), tragedy, joy, love--the whole range of human emotions. And Tolstoy is very fond of using overt symbolism--the fact that Vronsky and Anna have a significant second encounter in the middle of a violent snowstorm? Not subtle, Uncle Tolstoy, not subtle.

In short, I highly recommend Anna Karenina to EVERYONE. I understand that not everyone may have the patience to slog through all the commentary on Russian culture (even I had trouble with the extended sequence about bird-hunting), but there is so much richness to be mined from the story, it's totally worth the time investment. And if you can't be bothered to read the whole thing, at least read the (very short!) Part 8, which details Levin's conversion to faith and is a beautiful affirmation of life, goodness and belief in God.

Three's Company

I had a lovely evening last night, joining in with a friend's women's group from church. As part of the invite, we were instructed to bring three objects of significance, about which we could tell a story.
One hour before the event, I still hadn't even thought about what I could bring (except, briefly, "pictures? Hmmm..."), but I was pleasantly surprised when a quick rummage through my desk drawers and closet revealed at least three items that were both personally memorable and had great stories attached to them.


- Item one: the harmonica
During the spring break of my senior year, my friend Katie, me and four other friends traveled to the west coast (Washington's Olympic peninusla, specifically) to spend a week at Katie's house with her family. One of our adventures while there included a trip to visit Andy Mackie. Andy has spent many of his recent years serving as an advocate for music education. He goes into local schools, he raises money for scholarships, he has created "guitar-in-a-box" kits that can be assembled to create a simple one or three stringed guitar. He also plays harmonica, and standing in his workshop, he handed each of us one of these blue harmonicas in C and promptly taught us how to play "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."
So this harmonica reminds me not only of that trip, which was a wonderful time spent with good friends, but also all the music-making I shared with those friends and at college in general. Harmonica is very accessible, and in some ways symbolizes how my time at St. Olaf made all kinds of music my own.
I also played a fantastic duet of the Hallelujah Chorus with my friend Sarah on this harmonica, but that's another story.
- Item two: the apron
We celebrated six birthdays in about three months in my community house in DC. Each celebration was unique and fun; this apron comes from the celebration of housemate Callie's birthday. We had all baked cakes, in an impromptu "cake-off" and then Callie presented us all with blank aprons, tie dye and puff paints to each make our own apron. Not only do I really like the way mine turned it, it reminds me of the many good times I had living in the Bon House, and the ongoing value of sharing good food with those you love.
- Item three: the mittens
My most recent item, these are simply a birthday gift from my good friend Chris (technically also a Christina). Moving to Vancouver, going to Regent was a huge transition and a large part of the shock came right around my birthday. I had seen these mittens at the Bay and really wanted a pair, mostly because they were really fun and Canadian. They were the perfect gift at the perfect time--a luxury that I wanted, but couldn't afford; witness to a friend's caring about me; and a reminder that living in Canada was not all grey rainy weather, but also something bright, fun and cheerful.

twentysomething not-crisis

So on my morning facebook sojourn, I stumbled across this article (through a friend of a friend?):
11 things to know at 25ish
I found it thoughtful, wise, and generally good down-to-earth advice. Especially since I am doing nearly all of the things on it. :)