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From When She Was Kissed by the Mathematician

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Kareem Carr

Adam’s post reminded me of a series of poems called “Four Poems from When She Was Kissed by the Mathematician” by Sandra M. Gilbert. They are behind a pay-wall, but most students should have access.

They can be found here

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Mathematicians are strange!

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Adam Topaz

By Adam Topaz

Hello everyone! It is around that time when everyone is about to have, or has already had their spring break, so… have a good break! or, I hope you had a good break! respectively. Today I wanted to share a nice blog-post / article that I came across (and I’m sure many of you have already seen it): Should you Date a Mathematician? The author’s blog is also worth checking out as it is quite extensive with posts dating back to 2007. It was interesting reading this article from the “other side” (i.e. as a mathematician in a serious relationship with a non-mathematician). At various points I found myself saying “yep! I do that!;” for example:

Mathematicians are often open and direct. Many mathematicians, like me, have trouble making false statements. I stopped playing —Mafia— because of that. I prefer people who say what they think and do not hold back.

Yep! I do that!

Maybe after reading this article I will be a little more mindful of my strange mathematical quirks in social situations… probably not… In any case, I found this article fun to read and I hope you enjoy it too.

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Spaced Math Repetition Repetition

Posted on March 10, 2011 by Derek Smith

by Derek Smith

I read an article a few weeks ago which reminded me to provide an update on my previous article on my spaced repetition experiment. The end of the quarter seems like a good time to review. The article which appeared in the New York Times described a recent study which showed that test-taking improved retention, which is exactly the hypothesis of the spaced repetition system. An article in Ars Technica reviewed a study which demonstrated that, to some extent, this effect can even occur during sleep!

Continue reading →

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Travel Grants Available

Posted on March 6, 2011 by Kareem Carr

by Kareem Carr

A comment by Ellen Maycock of the AMS has brought to light some really good opportunities:

I wanted to let everyone know about some great funding opportunities that are coming up this summer and fall.

** The Mathematics Research Communities program of the AMS will accept applications until the end of the day on Tuesday, March 8 (extended from March 1). Check out the program for 2011 here: http://www.ams.org/programs/research-communities/mrc-11. This program is designed to help early career mathematicians get started on their research careers. If you are an advanced graduate student working in one of the designated areas for 2011, I encourage you to apply right away.

** The deadline for the AMS-Simons Travel Grants is March 31, 2011. If you receive your PhD between the time period April 1, 2007 – July 1, 2011, you are eligible for this round of travel grants. Check out this program at: http://www.ams.org/programs/travel-grants/AMS-SimonsTG. The AMS has received funding from the Simons Foundation for three rounds of these grants–so if you won’t finish this year, keep this program in mind for the future.

** Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, the AMS will be offering travel grants to graduate students for the fall 2011 AMS Sectional Meetings. This is in addition to the travel grants the AMS already offers for graduate students to attend the Joint Mathematics Meetings. Additional information is available at http://www.ams.org/programs/travel-grants/grad-students/emp-student-JMM. The deadline for applications for this program is April 15, 2011.

Best wishes,

Ellen Maycock
Associate Executive Director
American Mathematical Society