2/24 For those w/ a math interest KCSM (Channel 17/43.1) in the Bay
Area is airing a biography of Paul Erdos this Wednesday, 28 Feb.
\_ After the program, I dans@soda, will present a comprehensive
critique here in the soda motd.
\_ Really? I mean, Paul Erdos rocks and all, but, if
you're tuning in to the program, you already know that.
\_ Really? I mean, Paul Erdos rocks and all, but, if you're
tuning in to the program, you already know that.
P.S. Don't impersonate people on the motd. It's lame.
And if you're going to do it, at least get the details
right. -dans
\- VFR Jones, of the "Jones Polynomial" fame is giving a
talk on March 7 5pm at the Bancroft Hotel. dans will
follow it up with a talk on the HOMFLY polynomial.
On a different subject, Martin Jay, will be giving
a talk on Lying in Politics [he's not going to say what
you might expect, unless maybe you know him and read his LRB?
essay on this] on Feb 28 5pm Bancroft Hotel. Martin Jay is
not a normal person ... I think he has a photographic memory.
\_ Heh. I took Math 1B from Jones. Teaching lower-division
math classes made him *pissed*. -dans
\_ You really enjoy making threads tack so they are
about you, dont you?
\_ So then don't become a professor. Use your super
math skills in industry. People who become profs
and then get mad when they have to teach are idiots.
I'm sure even his dumb ass had to take 1B or
equivalent once upon a time and someone taught it
to him.
\_ Don't hate the player, hate the game: Berkeley math
doesn't even ask about teaching on their faculty
job applications. The department doesn't care, so
why should individual faculty?
\- what is ironic is one of the most notorious
math profs, Hurricane Wu, cares deeply about
teaching ... and even writes papers on how
to teach math. ob:
http://soda.berkeley.edu/~echeng/hurricane_wu
\_ Dude, were you abused by a theoretical math
professor? I mean, Vaughn Jones is a Fields
Medalist, somehow I suspect the satisfaction and
rewards with being, literally, one of the worlds
greatest mathematicians probably outweighs the
annoyance of having to teach Math 1B once every few
years. -dans
\_ And then these sorts typically take out their
frustration and annoyance on their undergrads
which is no good for anyone involved. They
should just hire non-prof. teachers to take care
of the lower division stuff.
\_ I think you are mis-diagnosing the problem.
It's not that 1a/b are elementary, it's that
they are not really math classes in the sense
that mathematicians practice math. These
classes exist to teach scientists and engineers
very useful practical skills, none of which
are relevant for a working mathematician. The
way for them to be taught right is for people
who acctually use calc to teach them, i.e.
science and engineering professors. The reason
this rarely happens is political: math
departments get money based on the huge
enrollment, and don't want to ever lose that
money to physics, EE, or ME or whatever.
At a school other than Berkeley, they actually
had applied physics profs teaching the 50a/b
series, and those sections were waaaay over
enrolled, while only people with a schedule
conflict would sign up with the math guy.
\_ The CS department has introduced CS 70 as
a replacement for Math 55 (formerly 50a/b)
for basically this reason. The math dept.
didn't care much for 55 since math people
don't take it, so it was generally not well
supported. It's really a class for CS types,
so it was moved to CS. -gm
\- curious point: among non-medical faculty
VFR Jones is one of the highest paid profs
in the uc system. it's a strange outlier.
\_ He's a Field's Medalist for pete's sake.
If that doesn't earn him a ridiculously
high salary, what will?
-dans
\- dood, you have to stop assuming
everybody else is stupid. uc has a
bunch of other nobels and fields
medalists and obviously i was
noting VFRJ compared to them, not
a lecturer in comp lit. it might be
interesting to see TTAO's recent
salary curve. in addition to prestige
there is mkt price/op cost, and how much
$$$ they bring into the university. e.g.
kahan has a turing award but i bet
patterson brings in more $$$. and i
didnt say it was ridiculously high.
i'm focusing on it's outliernss, not
it's magnitude.
\_ But he's a *field medalist*!!!@!1111
-!dans
\_ Why do you think I'm assuming
everyone else is stupid?
Insecure, and maybe a little
irrational possibly, but not
stupid. -dans
\_ See, this, right here, is why
no one likes you.
\_ No, that right there is what
I do to prevent having to
put up with fuckheads like
you in my social circle.
The precise term for this
is "standards".
-dans
\_ Hint: you can't get out
of the hole by continuing
to dig.
\_ Hint: I don't need
the affirmation of
anonymous motd hosers
to feel secure in my
sense of self. -dans
We're gonna need a bigger shovel... _/
\_ I'll take backhoes for $200, Alex!
-dans
\_ HOly fucking crap I want to buy a
backhoe for 200 dollars.
\_ try ofarrell && larkin
\_ Could you please provide
more information? thanks!
-guy who wants backhoe
\_ The $200 back hoe's
are usually Transvestites.
\_ dans, a couple of us got a
good laugh out of your use of
"theoretical math professor".
keep up the inadvertent humor. |