Alright, I had this vow that I would post at least once a week no matter how crazy things got, but I guess I didn’t realize just how much could stand in the way. So instead of a “math, physic, philosophy, or art” post, I’ll just explain why I haven’t been posting.
This weekend I will be moving. As with any time you move, it is highly stressful and time consuming. Speaking of time consuming, I am a grad student and have midterms approaching and for the most part classes that go faster than any human should be able to keep up with. Not to mention trying to set aside the time to grade the midterms I’ll be giving my students as a TA.
On top of that, my computer decided to break. Or Ubuntu decided to break my computer…or maybe this should somehow be worded that doesn’t involve a machine without consciousness making a decision to do something. In any case, I’ve spent numerous hours fixing it. It is finally back to normal, except for getting all the software back in place which will take at least a few weeks (yes, I formatted my hard drive).
On the plus side, I did get the new Andrew Bird album and may post on that soon. I’ve also read about half of Barth’s Lost in the Funhouse which would make a great compare/contrast post with Wallace’s Girl With Curious Hair.
I may also start a series on Morse theory, since I’ve become fascinated by it. Tallyhoe! (spelling on that?)
January 28, 2009 at 9:03 pm
I’ve seen it as “Tally-Ho!”
On a different note, Morse Theory is cool. You’ve expressed interest in Algebraic Geometry before…check out the Lefshetz Hyperplane Theorem. It’s a powerful theorem of Complex Algebraic Geometry, and the only proof I know (personally) is a rather nice Morse Theory argument.
January 29, 2009 at 12:39 pm
Tally ho? Sally forth!
Good luck with the move. And the midterms. Ick.
January 29, 2009 at 7:26 pm
I also claim it’s “tally-ho!”, or, depending on your feelings towards hyphens (mine are mixed), “tally ho!”.
January 29, 2009 at 7:41 pm
It appears either “tally-ho” or “tally ho” wins this battle.
Thanks Charles! As I am not yet far enough in my grad school education to “have a field of study,” perhaps I am destined toward algebraic geometry? I tend to tell people algebraic topology is my intended field, but recently I’ve called this into question…
January 30, 2009 at 4:30 am
Well, the Lefshetz theorem is a nice confluence, and it’ll help put a lot of concepts together, by using Morse Theory to compute the singular cohomology of a projective variety. I was on the border between the two fields for awhile too, and then drifted a bit more geometric, so now I do mostly complex algebraic geometry, where classical algebraic topology can be used effectively.