OT: Mathematics [was: The hoard speaks -- or writes?]

Jim Parish jparish at SIUE.EDU
Wed May 9 15:09:31 UTC 2007


Laurence Horn wrote:
> >At 5/9/2007 09:39 AM, Jim Parish wrote:
> >>Charles Doyle wrote:
> >>>  Back when I was studying mathematics at the University of Texas in the
> >>>  1960s, my aged mentor, Robert Lee Moore (inventor of what's now
> >>>  called topology; he called it point-set theory) used to proclaim that
> >>>  he'd known only one good mathematician who was also a proficient
> >>>  calculator, and that individual was ashamed of the fact.
> >>
> >>Erm. Speaking as a professional mathematician and sometime teacher
> >>of the history of mathematics: though an important figure in his own
> >>right, R. L. Moore did not invent topology; credit for that, depending on
> >>how you define the field, goes either to Henri Poincare
> >
> >which is why it is called poin-set topology
> >
> Poin-set match!  (This is why it's called topology.)
>
> LH

I'll admit it, I've been poined.

Jim Parish

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