Mathematical physicist and mentor to mathematically talented youth. Talent is that which bridges the gap between what can be taught and what must be learned.
Joined June 2012
- Tweets7.7K
- Following221
- Followers1.1K
- Likes19.2K
This is the single most important fact about Newton, as he himself acknowledged. When asked how he had arrived at this theory of universal gravitation, Newton answered, "By thinking on it constantly," which was doubtless the literal truth. His powers of concentration were immense
Thermodynamics is almost impossible to understand until you realize that it requires Cartan's theory of exterior differential calculus (and Frobenius' integrability condition) for its proper formulation. The best extant exposition of these ideas is in Bamberg & Sternberg, Vol. 2.
Anyone who has ever worked in a hospital knows that the duration of life is as unpredictable as the manner of its conclusion.
Having babies is for optimists and adventurers.
Chern's lectures were extraordinary: they always made everything seem not just clear but blindingly obvious. Your main reaction to the material he presented was always the same: acute embarrassment that you hadn't thought of it yourself.
Indeed, once you've learned to see the meaning of a thing, it can be (and often is) all but impossible to remember your former blindness to it.
bit.ly/3YI2Gqn
This is sometimes called the curse of expertise.
Life is short, and regret is useless. I recommend catnip to Lilith. Catnip, and a lot of long, dreamless naps.
Beethoven was a superb improviser -- clearly one of the best who ever lived -- but even he was better when he sat down and brooded tensely over every note. What occurs to you in the moment may be striking and fresh, but it is seldom optimal. And such things seldom cohere.