This post is wonderful! Surprisingly straightforward, well-written, and with just the right amount of charm. I think it will ring true to anyone who's spent a lot of time around mathematicians.
Oh, and this is hilarious:
What is the difference between an extroverted mathematician and an introverted one? The extroverted one looks at your shoes, rather than at his own shoes.
It's unfair to single that quote out, though, because this isn't a joke article.
Yes, the no-fluff straightforwardness of the piece is surprising only by the ordinary standard of linkbaity titles and so on... i.e. only by comparison to nearly everything. But not at all surprising once you get who the author is.
Eye color is nothing. Can you remember faces and names?
I struggle to remember names of faces of people. I have very poor memory for names, faces, and all that sort of thing. I don't remember the names of movies, celebrities or any of that sort of thing. I remember by people by their intellectual thoughts (I.E. the person who though X, or the person with spoke with this sort of vocabulary).
Am I a mathematician? Not really. I gave up on mathematics after I got addicted to the 3x+1 problem.
I think this article proves that it's time for another discussion about slipping standards here on HN. She writes:
I am an expert on NOT avoiding mathematicians: in fact, I’ve married three of them and dated x number of them.
Everyone knows that any variable labeled x is allowed to take on fractional values. Since she's probably not an actual serial killer[1], we can only assume she meant to say that the set of mathematicians dated can be indexed by a section of positive integers. In other words, she's dated n mathematicians.
How this advice got past peer review is beyond me.
[1] for one thing, many of them are too sane to date mathematicians.
> It is impossible and unfair to describe mathematicians as a type.
This is so true! Back then in school, I attended lots of Mathematical Olympiads and I came to know all different kinds of characters. Even in the higher ranks, closer the the IMO (http://www.imo-official.org/), there was no single kind of character dominating.
We all were so different from each other that I finally gave up using the word "mathematician" to describe anything but the plain interest in math.
My GF,is a mathematician. She is beautiful, intelligent, fun, and an incredible artist. We have been together for 10 years. Why havent we married? Between us we have 3 exes and 5 grown children. We have each other and dont need theocratic or societal benediction.
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[ 3.7 ms ] story [ 48.8 ms ] threadOh, and this is hilarious:
What is the difference between an extroverted mathematician and an introverted one? The extroverted one looks at your shoes, rather than at his own shoes.
It's unfair to single that quote out, though, because this isn't a joke article.
Perhaps because it was written by a mathematician? ;)
I guess I'm that kind of mathematician. Forever alone. :(
You've now identified a problem. Whats important is what you do about it.
I struggle to remember names of faces of people. I have very poor memory for names, faces, and all that sort of thing. I don't remember the names of movies, celebrities or any of that sort of thing. I remember by people by their intellectual thoughts (I.E. the person who though X, or the person with spoke with this sort of vocabulary).
Am I a mathematician? Not really. I gave up on mathematics after I got addicted to the 3x+1 problem.
I am an expert on NOT avoiding mathematicians: in fact, I’ve married three of them and dated x number of them.
Everyone knows that any variable labeled x is allowed to take on fractional values. Since she's probably not an actual serial killer[1], we can only assume she meant to say that the set of mathematicians dated can be indexed by a section of positive integers. In other words, she's dated n mathematicians.
How this advice got past peer review is beyond me.
[1] for one thing, many of them are too sane to date mathematicians.
> It is impossible and unfair to describe mathematicians as a type.
This is so true! Back then in school, I attended lots of Mathematical Olympiads and I came to know all different kinds of characters. Even in the higher ranks, closer the the IMO (http://www.imo-official.org/), there was no single kind of character dominating.
We all were so different from each other that I finally gave up using the word "mathematician" to describe anything but the plain interest in math.
If you didn't, well then in the first place, you probably are not reading Hacker News ;)