Category Archives: Taxi-and-other-stories

Layish

Posted on September 27, 2017 by

This story is implicitly referred to in the 2008 opening post of this blog. ———– It was high time to raise the level of the discussion, I thought. Princeton, Fall 1995. We were a group of mathematicians at the IAS … Continue reading →

Posted in Combinatorics, Computer Science and Optimization, Games, Mathematics to the rescue, Philosophy, Rationality, Sport, Taxi-and-other-stories | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Which Street is More Important: Canner Street or Cold Spring Street

Posted on March 22, 2012 by

Is it possible that Cold Spring Street is as important as Canner Street? I knew Canner Street from my earlier visits to Yale but Cold Spring Street was new to me. Naturally, I assumed that Canner Street was the important … Continue reading →

Posted in Academics, Taxi-and-other-stories | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Michal Linial: No Witches in Portugal

Posted on March 2, 2012 by

It gives me great pride to present:   Michal Linial:  March 2012 No witches in Portugal Landing in LISBOA, Portugal last night. I need to get to my hotel in Cascais. The nice lady in the tourist information ordered a … Continue reading →

Posted in Guest blogger, Taxi-and-other-stories | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

The Möbius Undershirt

Posted on February 9, 2010 by

“Look at this brand new undershirt,” my wife said. “I am shaking it and shaking it but still I have this twist.  Can you see what to do?”  I gave the undershirt a good shake. And another one. And one more. And … Continue reading →

Posted in Mathematics to the rescue, Taxi-and-other-stories | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

School Bus to Ramle

Posted on August 5, 2009 by

We had just come back to Israel from Palo Alto after spending a sabbatical year there and my child was starting school. I walked down with him to wait for the school bus. To my great surprise it was a yellow school … Continue reading →

Posted in Taxi-and-other-stories | Tagged | 2 Comments

A Little Story Regarding Borsuk’s Conjecture

Posted on June 22, 2009 by

Jeff Kahn Jeff and I worked on the problem for several years. Once he visited me with his family for two weeks. Before the visit I emailed him and asked: What should we work on in your visit? Jeff asnwered: … Continue reading →

Posted in Convexity, Taxi-and-other-stories | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Ulam and The Future of Mathematics

Posted on May 26, 2009 by

Ulam was scheduled to give a talk at the University of Chicago titled “The future of mathematics.” Stanislaw Ulam was a rather famous mathematician and a major player in building the H-bomb, so a large audience gathered.

Posted in Taxi-and-other-stories, What is Mathematics | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Intermediate Value Theorem Applied to Football

Posted on April 20, 2009 by

My idea (in my teenage years) of how to become a professional basketball player was a bit desperate. To cover for my height and my athletic (dis)abilities, I would simply practice how to shoot perfectly from every corner of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Mathematics to the rescue, Sport, Taxi-and-other-stories | Tagged , , , , , | 18 Comments

Coffee, Cigarettes, and Aggression

Posted on April 7, 2009 by

  Upgrade to hell Getting an upgrade to business class on a flight to Amsterdam en route to NYC seemed splendid. But I soon discovered that I was upgraded to one of the two rows for business smokers. The person on … Continue reading →

Posted in Taxi-and-other-stories | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Michal Linial: Vive La Technology

Posted on December 11, 2008 by

  Nebi Samuel   It was a long night after crossing the Atlantic. I got to the airport and indeed the big signs of ‘Welcome’ and “TAAM SHEL BAIT” (taste of home) had a special appeal. It was 3:30 in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Guest blogger, Taxi-and-other-stories | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment