A Snippet on Mathematics

I'm sorry to say that my comments aren't fully in order, and until I get my MacBook (I'm buying one on September 25th after Photokina, regardless of whether Apple updates the model to Merom or not), they will remain as such. Furthermore, I will only be providing small snippets of my experience via blog and email until I have unlimited computer resources.

I just had an... experience today. We took a grueling 3 hour mathematics placement examination on Sunday, and received our results today. I placed out of calculus and honors calculus and was one of about 20-30 who placed into the introduction to analysis and linear algebra (math 19900), a course designed to whip people into shape for analysis and honors analysis. There were about 20 or so people who placed into analysis in Rn (20300 series) and/or the honors version (20700 series), so I have clearly felt very humbled by the level of brilliance that surrounds me (even my own house is chock full of at least 5 or so first-years who are extremely talented at mathematics). So, I went to the meeting for first-years intending to take these classes. Right at 2 PM when it was scheduled to start, in walks a certain Paul Sally, the coordinator of undergraduate mathematics. The man must be 70 years old, and as he puts it: "I have no legs, I have no ears, and I have no eye, but I have a heart of gold." He wears an eye patch over one eye, and has another professor who repeats things to him when he can't hear. After ranting about how these classes would "kick you in the ass," (accordin to wikipedia, the name for his upcoming textbook is: "Kick-Ass Mathematics") he proceded to tell his assistant, a certain second-year, to write problems for us on the board. It was the most amazing thing. He made up some random problems mostly off the top of his head for us. As far as I know, one or two of the problems are as of yet unsolved. He proceded into a description of a few courses, but mostly focused on the honors analysis class, which requires about 30-40 hours of outside work each week to scrape by. As far as he knows, it is the most difficult undergraduate mathematics class in the United States, taught at what most would consider the graduate level. This is all ridiculously intense, in a word. Apparently 2-3 unsolved problems are given as homework each week. The man is amazing, and while I felt unspeakably intimidated at the beginning (and I still am), I think that this will be a very fun ride.