Algebra in the news

A certain person has repeatedly told me that this blog is "too nerdy". This post will be even nerdier than usual, because the news media has come probably as close as it ever will to a story abot my work. Another mathematician sent me this quote from yesterday's Metro:

Mapped Out: A mathematical conundrum has been solved - with an answer the size of Manhattan. A group of mathematicians successfully mapped E8, one of the largest and most complicated mathematical structures. If the answer was written out by hand it would cover an area the size of New York borough. E8 is an example of a Lie group, invented by Norwegian mathematician Sophus Lie in 1887 to understand the symmetry of three-dimensional objects.

Apart from being bemused at what the journalist's typically hyperbolic phrase "one of the largest and most complicated mathematical structures" might actually mean, he and I were not able to tell what these mathematicians had actually done. Of course, it is a free paper (see what The Shadow has to say about a free paper), but The Times and the BBC didn't do much better. I'm not sure what The Times' heading is about, but at least the BBC corrected their most obvious mistake, changing the sentence that originally read "E8 is a member of the "Lie group" that describe symmetrical objects."

Obviously, these articles aren't trying to tell mathematicians exactly what has been done, but to give readers with no background in the area a general idea of the story. We eventuallly worked out what was going on using Google, but I'd really like to know what non-mathematicians make of the articles. Do you think they told you anything more than "a computer calculated something really big"? Can you describe what they actually calculated? Please tell me, even if you think you didn't understand a word of it!

Also, 10 points to anyone who does enough research to say what the picture is.

Foreign money

Last week, the Bank of England launched a new £20 note. A picture of the economist Adam Smith replaces the composer Edward Elgar. Apart from the fact that hardly anyone who isn't an economist has heard of Adam Smith, he was a Scotsman. Obviously the peopel at the Bank of England would have a lot fo respect for eminent economists, but why would a Scotsman appear on an English note, when teh Scottish banks issue their own notes? Smith has already appeared on £50 notes from the Clydesdale Bank (owned by the NAB).

Perhaps more relevantly, when will the Bank of England catch up with the times and issue proper polymer notes?

Targeted at what?

Google places "relevant" ads next to just about anything using it's AdSense, a "content-targeted advertising program". You can even choose to have ads on your blog, with Google supposedly choosing the most relevant ads for your readers.

I don't think I'd make any money out of it, but I'm curious enough to be tempted to put the ads on here just to see what sort of things the program would come up with. It can be quite funny to look at the ads it chooses. Yesterday for some vague reason, I sent an email from my googlemail address. It included some Chinese characters, and Google started giving me all sorts links to sites in Chinese.

Today I received a reply which included a mention of someone who has just moved to Sydney. What ads does Google decide on? Firstly, an ad for "100% Australian Ugg boots", with express delivery worldwide. Then, a slightly more relevant cheap phone calls to Sydney ad. Lastly, an ad for aNewLifeInSydney.com, with the words "Sydney needs 50,000 people now. Start your new life today!", which struck me as quite strange. I'm not so worried about Sydney's population that I'd discourage immigrants, but how does Sydney need 50,000 people?

Red moon

Last night there was a full lunar eclipse, with totality between 22:43 and 23:58 UT. We were very pleased to see that there was a very clear sky in London at the time, so we had a great view from our back windows. We saw the moon go various combinations of red and white as in went in and out of the earth's shadow, and somehow managed to get this surprisingly good photo.

I can't remember the last time there was a clear night for an eclipse, and this was better than any I've seen befopre. It's not exactly a action packed show, but quite spectacular. As for all of you in eastern Australia and other places that missed out on the view, I hope you enjoyed the sunlight that would have gone to the moon if you hadn't been in the way!

Who needs a hand?

On Wednesday, New Zealand cricketer Jacob Oram wasn't sure his finger, injured attempting to catch a skied ball during the recent series against Australia, would heal enough to allow him to play in the World Cup. If not, he was considering amputation:

"If it means cutting the finger off, if that's the worse-case scenario, if that's the last resort, I'll do that, there's no way I'm missing this."

I don't know whether I'd be willing to lose a finger if it could gain me a place in the World Cup. Some would say his priorities are crazy, but I suspect most of us can at least understand the sort of thinking that would lead to that desperation. Fingers are fairly small, some are less important than others, and Oram has a chance to do something very important in his thinking at least - play in a World Cup. He is willing to decide that the World Cup means more to him than his finger.

Jesus told his disciples to cut off their feet and hands and pluck out their eyes if they caused them to sin. I have heard a lot of discussion about whether Jesus is speaking figuratively or exaggerating, or whether we should take it literally. It is interesting that in the book of Mark, this instruction appears in chapter nine, just a couple of chapters after Jesus tells his disciples that a whole smorgasbord of evils come from within, out of men's hearts. Whatever you make of that, Jesus' explanation is quite straighforward: It is better to enter life/the kingdom of God than be physically whole and thrown into hell. He accompanies this with a vivid quote from Isaiah to illustrate what hell is like.

This isn't an exaggeration, it is a simple statement of priorities based on logic that is hard to argue against. Just as Oram believed it is better to play in the World Cup with nine fingers than to have ten and miss out, Jesus says eternal life is more important than things like hands, legs and eyes, let alone fingers and World Cups. As it turned out, Oram didn't have to go through with his decision and will play without amputation. Our practical response to Jesus may not be to get out the axe or call the surgeon, but it probably is fairly drastic. Does that put us off, or are we desperate for the kingdom of heaven too?

Bouncing through the year

The year is marching on, and while there was no leaping, spring has sprung upon us. I still need my jumper, though.

St David is said to have died 1018 years ago today. I wonder if that's why the daffodil became a symbol of Wales.

Trouble training

After the fatal derailment in Cumbria last Friday night, I expect the Virgin Trains people have better reasons to be worried about losing customers than damage caused by ticket stamp wielding train managers. More seriously, thank God that there were so few casualties in such a high-speed derailment. The driver of the London to Glasgow train, Iain Black, is being called a hero for staying in his seat and continuing to drive the train after it had left the rails, rather than trying to protect himself.

(Not the best photo I have, but it seemed the most appropriate. 10 points for naming the station this Virgin Voyager is at, and 10 more if you can guess where it was headed last Friday night.)