"Lecture" for Week 10

Chatty generalities
I just got back from an exhibit at A&M of J. J. Audubon's bird and animal engravings. They did not have color printing till the 1860 edition, so every edition during his lifetime had to have each copy painted by hand individually (not by John James, but by an army of flunkies working for his printer). It takes my breath away to think of getting out a book like that. And we think we have trouble putting formulas and diagrams into Web pages.

Buck up, troops! This past week I've been hearing from quite a few of you that the math gets harder as it becomes more modern. Yes, Dr. Allen warned me, "The path of least resistance is to stay in the Greeks for a LONG time," but I wasn't satisfied with that. I hope that our speeding up earlier will give you some time to absorb the more modern material in a relaxed fashion (not to mention finishing your essays and term papers). Actually, there aren't many problem assignments left; Allen wrote no problems for this week (Riemann and other later analysis), and it wasn't hard for me to decide not to try to fill the gap. I'm aiming for an "algebra" assignment due Wed. 11/19 and an "infinity" assignment due Mon. 12/1 (or 11/26 if you want to finish it before Thanksgiving); that puts them well away from the paper deadlines. Then my Thanksgiving homework will be to write a final chapter on the history of linear algebra and related subjects; if I attach exercises to that, I probably won't collect them.

Publishing your papers
Tuesday is my relatively free day, so I spent much of yesterday reading your book reviews. They are all interesting and the books are all distinct, as it turns out. I've made a new folder in WebCT where I hope you will post your book reviews (now) and your second and third papers (when the time comes).