Monthly Archives: November 2011

Fields

Posted on November 29, 2011 by JBL

This post is actually for my brother, a very smart non-mathematician who regularly asks me insightful questions about mathematics.  Over Thanksgiving, he was probing me about a piece of abstract algebra, the existence of different sorts of fields. I’m going … Continue reading →

Posted in Math | Leave a comment

“Galileo’s Daughter” by Dava Sobel

Posted on November 25, 2011 by JBL

This biography of Galileo was a lot of fun.  It includes interesting and insightful commentary on the state of science at the time and how Galileo’s work revolutionized it, the theocratic politics in which he was trapped, and a wonderful … Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews | Leave a comment

Quote of the day: Occupy Wall Street

Posted on November 15, 2011 by JBL

Bloomberg: From the beginning, I have said that the City had two principal goals: guaranteeing public health and safety, and guaranteeing the protestors’ First Amendment rights.  But when those two goals clash, the health and safety of the public and … Continue reading →

Posted in What's the news? | Leave a comment

“Religious liberty”

Posted on November 15, 2011 by JBL

Laurie Goodstein writes for the Times: The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops opened a new front in their fight against abortion and same-sex marriage on Monday, recasting their opposition as a struggle for “religious liberty” against a government and a culture … Continue reading →

Posted in What's the news? | Leave a comment

More garden update

Posted on November 8, 2011 by JBL

“What?!” you say, “a garden update five months later?”  But, in fact, after a long period of nothing happening, our tomatoes and pepper started putting out flowers in late October (just in time for the first snowstorm of the season) … Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellany | Leave a comment

Cranberry orange scones

Posted on November 5, 2011 by JBL

I initially considered titling this post “When life gives you cranberries, make cranberry orange scones,” but I realized that all of my posts could be similarly titled (“When life gives you kidney beans, make rajma;” “when life gives you cheddar, … Continue reading →

Posted in Dinner | Leave a comment

Richard Geller

Posted on November 1, 2011 by JBL

Richard Geller, Stuyvesant math teacher and coach of the Stuyvesant and New York City math teams, died today of melanoma.  Barbara Geller wanted everyone to know that his final words to his son were, “Any questions?”  The Stuyvesant Spectator is … Continue reading →

Posted in Math, Miscellany | Leave a comment