"mathematics is a part of our culture like music, poetry and philosophy"

"I have mentioned the closeness between the style of mathematics and
the style of classical music or poetry. I was happy to find the
following four common features: first -- beauty, second --
simplicity, third -- exactness, fourth -- crazy ideas. The
combination of these four things: beauty, exactness, simplicity and
crazy ideas is just the heart of mathematics, the heart of classical
music. Classical music is not only the music of Mozart, or Bach, or
Beethoven. It is also the music of Shostakovich, Schnitke, Shoenberg
(the last one I understand less). All this is classical music. And I
think, that all these four features are always present in it. For
this reason, as I explained in my talk, it is not by chance that
mathematicians like classical music. They like it because it has the
same style of psychological organization."

- I. Gelfand

Tanya Gelfand, the girl I've been seeing for the last five months,
forwarded me two talks her dad gave at a recent conference organized
on the occasion of his 90th birthday:

http://www-math.mit.edu/conferences/unityofmathematics/program.html

One talk is non-technical, includes the quote above, and should be
accessible to everyone here:

http://www-math.mit.edu/conferences/unityofmathematics/talks/gelfand-
royal-talk.html

The other talk is accessible until page 4 and then becomes technical.
Tanya is thanked. If Gene or anyone can come up with a connection to
music, I'm sure they'd be delighted to hear about it:

http://www-math.mit.edu/conferences/unityofmathematics/talks/gelfand-
talk.pdf

--- In metatuning@yahoogroups.com, "Paul Erlich" <PERLICH@A...> wrote:

http://www-math.mit.edu/conferences/unityofmathematics/talks/gelfand-
> royal-talk.html

Incidentally, the business about points of view had to do with
anti-Semitism.

> The other talk is accessible until page 4 and then becomes technical.
> Tanya is thanked. If Gene or anyone can come up with a connection to
> music, I'm sure they'd be delighted to hear about it:
>
> http://www-math.mit.edu/conferences/unityofmathematics/talks/gelfand-
> talk.pdf

It's possible there is a connection with music; Gelfand talks quite a
bit about generalizing multilinear algebra to work over division
algebras, which one could imagine might find a use.

--- In metatuning@yahoogroups.com, "Gene Ward Smith" <gwsmith@s...>
wrote:
> --- In metatuning@yahoogroups.com, "Paul Erlich" <PERLICH@A...>
wrote:
>
> http://www-
math.mit.edu/conferences/unityofmathematics/talks/gelfand-
> > royal-talk.html
>
> Incidentally, the business about points of view had to do with
> anti-Semitism.

Not surprising -- this was the Stalin era, wasn't it?

I was just watching PBS and it seems that Hitler attributed the
secret (not secret enough, apparently) Canadian meeting between
Churchill and FDR to the international jewish conspiracy, convincing
him that the "final solution" could not be delayed until the end of
the war, but had to be implemented immediately. I never knew that.

> It's possible there is a connection with music; Gelfand talks quite
a
> bit about generalizing multilinear algebra to work over division
> algebras, which one could imagine might find a use.

Let me know. As you might imagine from his age, his health is not
optimal these days; hope I get to meet him before it's too late
(Tanya's met my mom . . . ) . . .