Pascal's adding machines at the Musee des Arts et Metiers
Summer is a complicated time for math profs. On the one hand, we have a couple of months during which we don’t have to teach, which seems like a really long, enviable vacation (my family still thinks I have the best job in the world because of this). On the other hand, this is the time when we’re supposed to do everything we haven’t been able to do as much during the school year, particularly, get research done and attend conferences. (This might be different for people at research institutions, but my guess is it’s not THAT different.) This summer, for example, my to-do list includes: submit at least one of two papers based on stuff that is pretty much finished (the writing takes a while, though), think more about a couple of new projects, read some papers, finish a grant application, and prepare for a conference talk later on and my classes in the Fall (which are both new and challenging). So, how does one really go on vacation? I will tell you a little bit of what I’ve figured out this summer, and I encourage everyone to give other tips and suggestions for the newbies like me who are still trying to figure all of this out.
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