18 Oct 04
I took a look at your website, which you provide a link to from your profile here at RHP. I like the way you worked a chess game into a story. Isaac Asimov did that in one of his early novels--I think it was 'Pebble in the Sky.' So if these questions are not too personal, maybe you can give us more biographical information on yourself.
* How wealthy does an American family have to be to send their flesh and blood across the Atlantic for college?
* What can you tell us about Gauss's class number problem and the Heegner numbers?
* Are you enjoying your experience in the UK?
* What sort of career are you aiming for?
19 Oct 04
1 edit
Originally posted by Paul DiracI like a lot of Isaac Asimov's work, but I haven't read PITS. It will be added to the list.
I took a look at your website, which you provide a link to from your profile here at RHP. I like the way you worked a chess game into a story. Isaac Asimov did that in one of his early novels--I think it was 'Pebble in the Sky.' So if ...[text shortened]... experience in the UK?
* What sort of career are you aiming for?
*Uh, my father's an engineer, my mother teaches English in a public (ie state) school. AFAIK, they haven't got any money floating around from their families, but they do own about 10% of a house. Education in the UK is somewhat cheaper than the equivalent education in the States, although the international fee is still quite steep. My father is a British citizen, living mostly in Britain, so if possible that card can be played to make it go from slightly to significantly cheaper. So, not especially wealthy, but not currently in any dire straights either.
*Not much, I'm afraid. Mathematically, I'm mostly self-educated, so a bit spotty, especially at that kind of level. Is that the same Heegner who was a school teacher who messed about with modular functions and got ignored?
*I am enjoying it immensely, thus far (I've been at uni just over two weeks, and spent a week at my father's apartment in Norfolk).
*If I'm good enough, I'd like to do the maths thing at the research level, though I've no idea where. If not, I don't know what I'd do other than try to do the Heegner thing, because maths is something I find extremely interesting, regardless of what I do careerwise.
Thanks for looking at my site 😀.
EDIT Not the first in the family to do the international student thing; my sister (two years my senior) studies in Canada, and I keep telling my younger sister (13) that she should go to uni in Australia 😉.
19 Oct 04
Originally posted by royalchickenI wish you the best of luck at finding a career that you enjoy. Hopefully it will work out for you.
*If I'm good enough, I'd like to do the maths thing at the research level, though I've no idea where. If not, I don't know what I'd do other than try to do the Heegner thing, because maths is something I find extremely interesting, regardless of what I do careerwise.
19 Oct 04
Originally posted by royalchickenI still say we team up and go for the Nobel. You will prolly finish your Doctorate before me, but it would be feasible nonetheless!
I like a lot of Isaac Asimov's work, but I haven't read PITS. It will be added to the list.
*Uh, my father's an engineer, my mother teaches English in a public (ie state) school. AFAIK, they haven't got any money floating around from their families, but they do own about 10% of a house. Education in the UK is somewhat cheaper than the equivale ...[text shortened]... in Canada, and I keep telling my younger sister (13) that she should go to uni in Australia 😉.
19 Oct 04
2 edits
Originally posted by royalchickenOne possibility if you are interested. Try doing a couple of physiology or biology courses as an undergrad. There is a large amoutn of work worldwide in mathematical modelling of biological processes.
*If I'm good enough, I'd like to do the maths thing at the research level, though I've no idea where. If not, I don't know what I'd do other than try to do the Heegner thing, because maths is something I find extremely interesting, regardless of what I do careerwise.
I have worked my way towards that through an engineering career path. But there are different and great opportunities for those with a pure maths background. And plenty of PhD scholarships to find when the time comes. 🙂
-trekkie
19 Oct 04
Originally posted by royalchickenThanks for the information. I wondered if you had family ties to Britain.
... Is that the same Heegner who was a school teacher who messed about with modular functions and got ignored?...
A Net search reveals to me that Kurt Heegner taught high school in Berlin in the 1950s, so that must be the same one you know about.