Oh, Science lecture season is upon us again. Good talk on Archimedes and axiomatic systems.
My favorite was a Martin Gardner quotation on one slide: “Biographical history, as taught in our public schools, is still largely a history of boneheads: ridiculous kings and queens, paranoid political leaders, compulsive voyagers, ignorant generals - the flotsam and jetsam of historical currents. The men who radically altered history, the great scientists and mathematicians, are seldom mentioned, if at all.”
Learned about Archimedes' Claw, Laplace's Demon, and that a Professor Emeritus from Drexel can give a compelling talk.
Oh, and there seems to be a hierarchy: Do a good thing for Science or Math, and they'll put you on a postage stamp. Next step up is on currency. Wasn't said if there were higher tiers.
(had I been smart enough to look the guy up beforehand and knew he'd written a textbook on Linear Algebra, I would've totally stayed for the reception to bug him about it.)
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