GEOMETRIES OTHER THAN EUCLID’S PART 2
YESTERDAY, WE left geometry in a quandary. Mathematicians were trying to accommodate Euclid’s Fifth Postulate, the one about parallel lines, into 19th-century goals of mathematical rigor. Could it follow from … Continue reading
GEOMETRIES OTHER THAN EUCLID’S PART 1
FOR TWO THOUSAND years, geometry codified by Euclid, a Greek mathematician who flourished c. 300 B.C., gave a model of reality for the likes of Johannes Kepler, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz, … Continue reading
HOLMES IN ERROR, GOOSEWISE?
THERE’S CONTROVERSY resulting from Dr. John H. Watson’s chronicling of “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle.” The gemstone of this title, belonging to the Countess of Morcar, was allegedly found … Continue reading
SCIENCE FOR DILETTANTES
DON’T BE put off by “dilettantes.” In most areas of modern science, many of us qualify as having what Merriam-Webster calls “a superficial interest in an art or branch of … Continue reading
WHAT A SWEET LITTLE BÉBÉ!
THE PEUGEOT Type BP1 Bébé was designed by no less than Ettore Bugatti. Though not officially the first Bugatti, nor the first of Peugeot’s cyclecars, the Bugatti-designed Bébé built between … Continue reading
GRIFTERS—IN POLITICS, ON OLD-TIME RADIO, AND AT THE MOVIES
A GRIFTER is one who obtains money or property illicitly, a confidence man. And, note, with few exceptions (see “Con Women—Balancing the Game), grifting seems to be a masculine endeavor. … Continue reading
EMI, BOTH ACCIDENTAL AND INTENTIONAL
ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE (EMI) is as old as the earliest electrical devices. And as potentially dangerous as ever in today’s quest for autonomous vehicles. EMI may occur accidentally, an otherwise benign … Continue reading
CELEBRATING THE ZILDJIAN FAMILY—ALL 400 YEARS OF IT
AT ONE TIME, our next door neighbors were a cymbal salesman and a violist. She played professionally and, as I recall, he also had gigs as an orchestral percussionist. They … Continue reading
THE ART OF MILTON GLASER
LET’S CELEBRATE Milton Glaser, graphic artist extraordinaire, renowned for everything from “I ❤️ NY” to the psychedelic Bob Dylan poster to logos for, among others, Brooklyn Brewery, DC Comics, and … Continue reading
WORDS ON MUSIC
“IF ONE HEARS bad music,” Oscar Wilde said, “it’s one’s duty to drown it in conversation.” Natural philosopher and polymath Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz commented, “Music is a calculation performed by … Continue reading
