Interview with Max Gladstone: the Reinterviewenating

[mrissa]

I interviewed Max last summer when he wrote a book for my birthday, and look! he’s been kind enough to do it again! So here’s another interview with everyone’s favorite Max Gladstone, better than all the other Max Gladstones on your block.

1. Are you going to keep writing books for my birthday? I think this is a pretty good tradition.

Let’s make

Comments

[whswhs]

Now I'm perplexed: I was a mathematics major at UC San Diego, back in the dim past, but when I read the phrase "nightmare matrices" it doesn't evoke any obvious meaning to me. Is it supposed to refer to matrices that people have nightmares about, or to matrices that are made up of nightmares, or perhaps to matrices of which both are true?

[mrissa]

For me, "nightmare matrices" immediately evoked the kind of linear algebra applications in physics where attempting to diagonalize the matrix filled it with long, difficult to wrangle terms.

Your mileage may vary.

[whswhs]

Oh, okay. I thought you meant something more specific. My physics didn't go as far as using serious linear algebra, actually. I do remember finding canonical forms of matrices difficult when I took abstract algebra, but it was Galois theory that really broke my head.

[davidgoldfarb]

Happy birthday! (slightly belated)

[mrissa]

Thanks!

[swan_tower]

Seconded!

[mrissa]

Thanks!