Etc.
Non-Math Books I Recommend
One of my recent obsessions is consuming nonfiction books outside my mathematical research. Here are a few that I’ve read recently that have influenced how I think about doing science and mathematics.
-
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by T.S. Kuhn. This book helped me realize that essentially all scientific progress is small, incremental progress, made within a currently accepted framework. In part, this helped me forget about the anxiety associated with thinking all work needs to be revolutionary.
-
The Death of Expertise by T.M. Nichols. If you’re worried about the current state of politics, or if you’re planning on becoming an academic, or if you’re headed to college or graduate school or know someone who is, you should read this book. If you get most of your information about the world from the internet and social media, you should also read this book. It comes off as bitter and combative at times, but to be honest I think it’s the appropriate response.
-
The Emperor of All Maladies by S. Mukherjee. When I embarked on one of my current projects, my advisor recommended that I read this book. Knowing next to nothing about cancer - what it is, its history and how it’s treated - I found this to be both humbling and inspiring.
-
The Demon-Haunted World by C. Sagan. While written in the 1990’s and it shows, this book could not be more relevant in the current era of anti-vaccine, climate denying lunacy. This one fits well with The Death of Expertise in trying to explain how while science is not always correct, the systematic way in which science seeks to falsify its own results is what sets it apart from other methods of truth-seeking.
Climbing
When I’m not doing science, I like to go climbing. Tucson is secretly home to some of the best year-round rock climbing in the country - we have endless year-round, single pitch sport climbing at Mt. Lemmon and The Homestead, and spicy multipitch trad climbing in Cochise stronghold. Hueco Tanks is just 5 hours east, Joshua Tree is 6 hours West, Flagstaff is 4 hours north. Red Rocks and Zion are about 7 hours north. Here are just a few photos from my adventures climbing around Southern Arizona.
Sitting on top of Westworld Dome after climbing Warpaint (5p, 5.10c)
View from Mount Humphreys, Northern AZ
A rainstorm on Mount Lemmon
Hiking out to the Sheepshead, Cochise Stronghold (photo cred: Luke Parsons)
Trad climbing on Mount Lemmon (photo cred: Luke Parsons)
Sending my first 5.12a, The Wizard in Milagrosa Canyon (photo cred: Luke Parsons)