Degree of Freedom will be on hiatus until January. In the meantime, here are links to some other sources of mathematical interest / entertainment / bewilderment:
Timothy Gowers’s Mathematical Discussions page: informal introductions to and motivations of some key ideas in pure mathematics, from one of the handful of really eminent mathematicians who is also a good communicator.
Terry Tao’s blog: another very good mathematician with a gift for explanations. The blog posts tend to be fairly high-level stuff, but the section on careers advice and the list of selected articles (in the sidebar; scroll down quite a long way to find it) are both generally accessible.
The opinions of the somewhat eccentric but usually thought-provoking Doron Zeilberger, the scourge of the mathematically infinite.
Steven Krantz’s book on “mathematical maturity”. Especially if you already have a vague idea what the phrase means, you probably ought to read this.
Have a happy Winterval / Hannukah / Christmas / Yule / Kwanzaa / Hogmanay / Up Helly Aa / any other festivals we’ve forgotten, and we’ll be back in 2012…
(DoF)
