Posts in category Other funny things
Flu
Some undergraduate students wonder: why the lectures are so regular even during flu-marked months? The explanation is simple: the teachers are having flu in the semester break. I do have it almost every year: I’ve three kids at home. When I was younger, the flu usually presented a challenge, sometimes you’d defy it and go on, there was something to struggle with: headache, splitting cough, running nose at least. Now it is boring: I just feel like a squased bug, no fun at all. The brain does not seem to be affected: I was guiding phd studens per e-mail and they did not show any unrest. So I am in full recognitionof the boredom of my existence…
This is not to complain cause I fell it’ll be OVER soon. And this is such a JOY to get back to "normal" state, the state that I normally do not notice nor am satisfied with but which is such a WONDERFUL state. Glory to God.
Citations
The merits of a primitive warrior are measured by a number of enemy scalps he/she is able to demonstrate. The merits of a bisnessman are perhaps measured by the total of his/her bank accounts, but this is usually not demonstrated. The quatifier of scientific merits is relatively easy to access, at least with TU Delft subscribtion. You’d go to ISI web of knowledge, www.isiknowledge.com, and ask for somebody’s citation report. They give numbers that show how many times the creative works of prof. X have been cited by his/her colleagues. Nobody would pretend that this quantifies scientific excellence or usefulness or creativity of an individual. Yet the latter three are rather subjective, while the number of citations: here it is. This kind of vanity is more for mature researches, the number stays low while you work hard on your research and grows steadily while you hardly work. There is a certain similarity with a bank account.
So I consulted ISI to check the number for my favourite researcher (shamefully, his name is Yuli Nazarov). And look: I’ve found a nice round number of 6,000. Something rather satisfying: not that it is exceptionally high for my age, not that I find it corresponding to time and energy invested into recearch, yet it shows that the reasearch has been noticed.
The only phrase in the backgound of my mind irritates me, the phrase I have recently heard from a much more merited colleage : "Most theoretical papers are either cited or read". The irritation comes from the fact that I can not decide upon my papers: do I pferer them to be read or to be cited?
It was so much simpler to demonstrate some dried enemy scalps…
Florence – Firenze
This is of course my wife to decide where to go for a vacation. Yet I could not choose a better destination to investigate the links between science and faith, Firenze citta magnifica, that has been decaying mightly for last four houndred years but has not even reached the steepest moment of decay. Thereby presenting a good example to all Western civilizations.
Take Duomo. This is a multi-functional bulding. One of the main functions is kept from tourist crowds. To access it, you need to cross several barriers: some being in your soul, some in the Duomo. For the latter, you subsequenty talk to three guards. Those are responsive, although not in English. Finally, you get close to the relics, speaking scientifically, remains of human beings preserved for veneration. For us Orhodox the most important object was the head of St. John Chysostomos. The relics are difficult to see through jewelry of vessels and boxes. No board helps to recognize them. At some stage you recognize that the whole Duomo
is just a shell, an outer box to keep the boxes with relics. Heavenly perfect and humaly unperfect. Perhaps this is why the Florentians hardly cared about finishing it: its facade has been a painted piece of canvas for three centuries. On a more phylosophical note: are we not just shells to keep our faith in?
And now we want more science. Hit the Museum of History of Science, by far the eldest one: it has been started in 1562. Owing to endless restauro, you can see only a third of the collection ( so the entance fee is very scientifically reduced by a third). Still there is a large amount of old sci instruments from XVI to XIX century, much more than here in Delft. Yet no the original telescope of Galileo promiced. There is another thing missed on display. By tradition of times of relative harmony between science and faith, they keep the middle finger from the right hand of Galileo. Perhaps I should have argued with the guards that I am a professor of physics and ought to venerate the remain. I did not dare and also wanted to spare my wife. She has been alreary slightly confused about motivations of researches by an eldest exposure in the museum. That was a functional celestial globe. As a detail, it is being erected by a satyr, and the globe is not the only thing the satyr has erected.
Let me finish with better example of the harmony passed. In old sacristy of San Lorenzo, the eldest church in the town, one finds a detailed fresco that reproduces stars and planets in the sky with scientific accuracy. From the planet positions one reads the date: its Jule 4, 1442. Yet the significance of the date is not clear yet: more research is needed in this direction…
Thanks for 8000 views
It appears the blog is getting centred around a single dull topic: quickly increasing number of views. I apologize for an inconvenience. Let me explain.
Firstly, the number displays an unusual and interesting dynamics that I can not rationalize or predict. This activates my research instincts and I redard reporting the phenomenon as a part of my scientific duty. Second, let me confess, I like very much to get noticed and appreciated, especiallty if this attention is not deserved or expected (since I’ve abandoned any hope to get appreciated for things deserved).
Thank you very much for this! So I will keep reporting every doubling of the number of views.
The Protection of the Mother of God
is a feast of Orthodox churches.
On Oct. 1, 911, Constantinople was besieged by a viking-style gang consisting mostly of Russians. The fall of the city seemed inevitable. Most non-military population gathered in churches where the services had been conducted day and night. At four o’clock in the morning st. Andrew, the fool-for-Christ, and his disciple Epiphanus, came to see Our Lady praying in the altar. After the prayer, She has covered people gathered in the church by Her veil, as if protecting them from cold or cloaking from the enemy.
The city was spared by the time. The gang turned away satisfied with a modest tribute. Since that the orthodoxes celebrate the feast of Protection, or Intercession, or Veil: Greek word ÓêÝðç can mean all of above. It may seem strange that the feast is most loved by Russians, wrong side in the story. It requires some reasoning to gasp that the violence and terror inflicted by Russian gangs (either state-owned or private) abroad must be a minor fraction of that inflicted on their own soil. The conclusion is that Russians need the protecting veil most: to cloak from themselves.
Anyway the protection, the mercy comes to everybody. Mostly undeserved. Glory to God.
Thanks for 4000 views
it took my blog a month to get first 2000 views and a week to get second 2000. I’ve no rational explanation to this fact, blog stats available to me do not provide one.
There must be some magics involved, and I was trying to recall the tales my grandma used to develop my social skill. There were three magical spells in the tales, "thanks", "please" and "I promise". If I got it right that time, the first you use if you want something, with the second you politely refuse, and the third you just never-never use cause the powers unleashed can not be controlled by human beings. So it looks like I occasionally made use of the first spell.
So I shall thank you for 4000 views, and I promise …
Thanks for 2000 views
When I have started the blog, I did not really counted on any noticeable audience. Well, the blog goes about boring and rather specific stuff, mostly it is a technical dairy of my lectures. I am flattered with the fact that people find it (and perhaps the lectures) interesting. Thank you, your attention is very motivating both for writting the blog and for lecturing, and, let me put it frankly, just for living this life through.
Of course, I’d love to receive more feedback in the form of comments:)
Advanced Quantum Games
I have learned today that my promotion to Hoogleraar #1 is being postponed. That makes it. I will depart to gaming industries soon. To practise, I’ve made a couple of games today and uploaded it to the Blackboard. All Advanced Quantum students are allowed to download and enjoy my art work. However:
- You must be 18 or older to play
- It is not advisable to play without mastering the material of the corresponding lectures
- By no means me or Delft University of Technology can be held responsible for collateral damage inflicted or any other nasty things that would happen before, during and after the gameplay
They’re in Course Documents, Lectures 2 and 3. If you need instructions, you’d have to wait a while (see point 2 of the list).
Roostervrij – No schedule
Trully hillarious. First week of the semester. People are intensively looking for lecture schedules. The only website were schedules are available is down. At least it responds with "Error" to any request.
Is this a university or a farm employing intellectually challendged individuals?
I recall that after the last ICT revolution there were some outdated computers left. The rumour had that rector has sent those to Africa, to help in the development of the continent. It is surely a nobel gesture. Would not it be not only noble but practical gesture to dispatch the responsible ICT team to the same continent? For lesser shame to Delft and to the country.
Whatever. I cannot check where I am supposed to give the lecture tomorrow.
Coffeeless day
There were no coffee today at 10:30. Nor at 11:00. Neither later. It’s so shameful to be an addict. It’s so shameful to expect that anybody would be glad to drink a cup of coffee together in the group…