Tuesday, June 16, 2009

A Mathematics Museum

An old friend pointed me to this article about Glen Whitney, who is creating a math museum (after what I assume was a successful career in hedge funds). It's an inspiring story, and I wish him and this endeavor great success.

I first met Glen Whitney at the Ross Mathematics Program (also known as the Ohio State mathematics program) -- motto : "Think deeply of simple things..." -- and also saw him now and again at Harvard. The summer program has had a lot of influence on young mathematicians, and while one can measure its success in various ways (including the number of alumni who have gone on to have careers in mathematics or related fields), certainly the fact that it provided inspiration to Glen, who is paying it forward through this math museum, is one measure of its success.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The article's writer clearly doesn't care much for Mathematics.

Glen Whitney said...

Hey, Michael -
Care to join the museum effort? We'd love to have your input! And thanks for the nice words.
Glen