After the Holland intellectual high, I am now back to reality, "crystallizing" various things here in Helsinki.

1. A bit puzzled by why, and how, sometimes our worst examples become the best in retrospect. I am teaching for a few weeks here a course on a subject I truly hated when I was taught it. I blamed (and continue to blame) my former teacher of ( Read more... )

This account from Alexandre Borovik's Mathematics under the Microscope, on a summer math camp on the Aegean Coast, raises many interesting questions on doing math in countries outside of the current mainstream.

I quote Borovik: Crucially, I have two dozen bright, highly motivated students who are prepared to learn something challenging and non- ( Read more... )