13 December 2008

Principia What?



Leibniz and Newton.

Go ahead, invent some other way to analyze the natural world, I'll own that shit too. What? You're dead? Damn, I'll just have to own someone else's shit then. Where the hell is Riemann? Just kidding, that shit is way out of my depth.

It's more than a little unfair to claim that I am on par with Newton and Leibniz, but I did complete the Calculus series with straight A's, so I feel that I need to brag a little bit. I won't lie, it was fucking brutal. It's really not fair to ask students to compress and understand 300 plus years of mathematical discovery over the course of 45 weeks, or three semesters. The depth of knowledge is so vast that even though I seem to have excelled in my studies, I actually don't fully grasp the implications of what I have learned. You just have to take on faith the things that you learn and then look in wonder at what has been found and realize the gulf that remains and how that you will probably not ever contribute in any meaningful way, but that maybe, you can begin to realize what the fuck is going on.

I went to a party tonight. It was a far cry from the ideal of a party that I have experienced: Dionysian excesses coupled with the rage of a trapped animal. It does not make for a pretty morning after to be sure. It was fun, but adult fun, not horrible grasping, terrible, adolescent fun. It was measured, not the kind of hedonistic endeavor that you hope leads to some tawdry hookup with a friend. I can't believe that people actually miss those days.

Anyway, there is no message, only the absurdity of living.

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