Inauguration Nation

Just finished watching the installment of the HBO John Adams series where both Washington and Adams are inaugurated. Two words: Dork Heaven. Not sure about the accuracy of the portrayal (haven't gotten to that part in the McCullough book yet), but in the series Washington is sworn in before masses of cheering patriots. Adams is sworn in before Congress, and gets his most rousing applause during his inaugural address when he praises Washington.

I read in a New Yorker article that Adams' inaugural address was both "indefinite" (a large percentage of the words in the address were "if") and "cumbrous" (the third to last sentence was over 700 words long).

Meanwhile, if that's not enough inaugural trivia for you, check out these "Quick 10 Facts" about Presidential inaugurations from Mental Floss. My favorite: Andrew Johnson was so drunk he couldn't speak clearly during his inauguration.

Gem #4: Hardy's Apology

This gem from the history of mathematics is more recent. It was published in 1940 by British mathematician G.H. Hardy. The book/essay was written when Hardy (then 62) felt that he no longer had the ability to contribute to the field of mathematics. A main theme in the book is concerning mathematical beauty, and he believed that the most beautiful mathematics was that, which had no application! Luckily, this book is also in the public domain, and you can read it in below (or download the pdf):

A Mathematician's Apology

Publish at Scribd or explore others: math Science-Mathematics

Gem #4: Hardy's Apology

This gem from the history of mathematics is more recent. It was published in 1940 by British mathematician G.H. Hardy. The book/essay was written when Hardy (then 62) felt that he no longer had the ability to contribute to the field of mathematics. A main theme in the book is concerning mathematical beauty, and he believed that the most beautiful mathematics was that, which had no application! Luckily, this book is also in the public domain, and you can read it in below (or download the pdf):

A Mathematician's Apology

Publish at Scribd or explore others: math Science-Mathematics