Related papers: Memories with Solomon Marcus
In a project with Gordon Semenoff on 1+1 dimensional QCD many years ago (when he was my postdoc advisor), we stumbled over a method to solve Calogero-Moser-Sutherland models using gauge theories. Since then, these models have reappeared in…
"Mathematicians, like physicists, are pushed by a strong fascination. Research in mathematics is hard, it is intellectually painful even if it is rewarding, and you would not do it without some strong urge." [D. Ruelle]. We shall give some…
Scientific research involves mathematical modelling in the context of an interactive balance between theory, experiment and computation. However, computational methods and tools are still far from being appropriately integrated in the high…
These are notes and slides from a Pecha-Kucha talk given on March 6, 2013. The presentation tinkered with the question whether calculus on graphs could have emerged by the time of Archimedes, if the concept of a function would have been…
In this work we dig into the process of scientific discovery by looking at a yet unexploited source of information: Polymath projects. Polymath projects are an original attempt to collectively solve mathematical problems in an online…
A sketch of some of the fundamental notions related to the nature of knowledge is offered, with special focus on the role of mathematics and my own opinions. No single idea exposed here is entirely original; indeed, this topic has been…
We cast aspects of consciousness in axiomatic mathematical terms, using the graphical calculus of general process theories (a.k.a symmetric monoidal categories and Frobenius algebras therein). This calculus exploits the ontological…
These are lecture notes from my talks at the "Current Developments in Mathematics" conference (Harvard, 2006). They cover a variety of topics involving symplectic cohomology. In particular, a discussion of (algorithmic) classification…
This paper establishes grounds for deeper exploration into the question of dual nature of mathematics as an abstract discipline and as a concrete science. It is argued, as one of the consequences of the discussion, that the division into…
Building blocks and tiles are an excellent way of learning about geometry and mathematics in general. There are several versions of tiles that are either snapped together or connected with magnets that can be used to introduce topics like…
Theory of computing (ToC) courses are a staple in many undergraduate CS curricula as they lay the foundation of why CS is important to students. Although not a stated goal, an inevitable outcome of the course is enhancing the students'…
Contents 1 Mappings and distortion 2 The mathematics of good behavior much of the time, and the BMO frame of mind 3 Finite polyhedra and combinatorial parameterization problems 4 Quantitative topology, and calculus on singular spaces 5…
Toposes can be pictured as mathematical universes. Besides the standard topos, in which most of mathematics unfolds, there is a colorful host of alternate toposes in which mathematics plays out slightly differently. For instance, there are…
We investigate small covers and quasitoric over the duals of neighborly simplicial polytopes with small number of vertices in dimensions $4$, $5$, $6$ and $7$. In the most of the considered cases we obtain the complete classification of…
This paper looks at how ancient mathematicians (and especially the Pythagorean school) were faced by problems/paradoxes associated with the infinite which led them to juggle two systems of numbers: the discrete whole/rationals which were…
In this paper, our aim is to discuss the outcome of a ten-year experimental workshop activity carried out by the Center `matematita' (http://www.matematita.it/) with classes of pre-university students of any age. We analyse the potential…
In physics, Feynman diagrams are used to reason about quantum processes. In the 1980s, it became clear that underlying these diagrams is a powerful analogy between quantum physics and topology: namely, a linear operator behaves very much…
Recently continuous rational maps between real algebraic varieties have attracted the attention of several researchers. In this paper we continue the investigation of approximation properties of continuous rational maps with values in…
This is a survey paper about a selection of results in complex algebraic geometry that appeared in the recent and less recent litterature, and in which rational homogeneous spaces play a prominent r{\^o}le. This selection is largely…
These are notes on the impact of Lagrange's memoir on the construction of geographical maps. We mention the relations of some ideas and questions introduced in this memoir with other notions that appeared later in the works of several…