note | Chris Aldrich

I’m an old fashioned kind of guy

I'm an old fashioned kind of guy

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Photo taken at: Crossings

Stunning little bar at Crossings in South Pasadena

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Photo taken at: Crossings Restaurant

“We didn’t cover much, but we sure did learn.”

We had to prove the theorems ourselves—with hints, of course—and as a result didn’t get very far, covering perhaps a fourth of what might be done in a conventional lecture. But so what? The most persistent myth of mathematics education is that what is covered is the same as what is learned. We didn’t cover much, but we sure did learn.

Steve Mitchell, algebraic topologist
on learning mathematics in Steve Mitchell short biography

To Understand God’s Thought…

To understand God’s thought, we must study statistics, for these are the measure of His purpose.

Florence Nightingale, OM, RRC (1820-1910), English social reformer and statistician, founder of modern nursing, renaissance woman
in Florence Nightingale’s Wisdom, New York Times, 3/4/14

Florence Nightingale developed the polar pie chart to depict mortality causes in the Crimean War.

Information Theory is Something Like the Logarithm of Probability Theory

To put it saucily: information theory is something like the logarithm of probability theory. In early modern times the logarithm simplified multiplication into addition which was more accessible to calculation. Today, information theory transforms many quantities of probability theory into quantities which allow simpler bookkeeping.

More seriously, information theory is one of the most universal concepts with applications in computer science, mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry and other fields. It allows a lucid and transparent analysis of many systems and provides a framework to study and compare seemingly different systems using the same language and notions.

Dr. Daniel Polani, reader in Artificial Life, University of Hertfordshire
in “Research Questions”

Not only a great quote, but an interesting way to view the subjects.

Why a Ph.D. in Physics is Worse Than Drugs

I have known more people whose lives have been ruined by getting a Ph.D. in physics than by drugs.

Jonathan I. Katz, Professor of Physics, Washington University, St. Louis, Mo.
in “Don’t Become a Scientist!”

In the essay, Dr. Katz provides a bevy of solid reasons why one shouldn’t become a researcher. I highly recommend everyone read it and then carefully consider how we can turn these problems around.

Editor’s Note: The original article has since been moved to another server.

How might we end the war against science in America?

Purple Top Cowries (Cypraea Annulus)

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Photo taken at: Kidspace Children’s Museum

God Could Have Caused Birds to Fly With Their Bones Made of Solid Gold

Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh heavier than lead, and with their wings exceedingly small. He did not, and that ought to show something. It is only in order to shield your ignorance that you put the Lord at every turn.

Salviati’s (Galileo’s voice) response to Simplicio (Pope Urban VIII)
Galileo Galilei in Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems