Mathematicians Of The Day

22nd March



On this day in 1880, The New York Times commented on Sam Loyd's Fifteen Puzzle that was sweeping the country,
No pestilence has ever visited this or any other country which has spread with the awful celerity of what is popularly called the Fifteen Puzzle. ... it now threatens our free institutions, inasmuch as from every town and hamlet there is coming up a cry for a 'strong man' who will stamp out this terrible puzzle at any cost of Constitution or freedom .

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Quotation of the day

From Irving Kaplansky
We [he and Halmos] share a philosophy about linear algebra: we think basis-free, we write basis-free, but when the chips are down we close the office door and compute with matrices like fury.
Paul Halmos: Celebrating 50 Years of Mathematics.