[WWC #5] I have not time
Evariste Galois was a brilliant mathematician who also happened to be a political firecracker. He was scheduled to a duel at age 20 and surely knew he was about to die - the night before the duel he scribbled down all his ideas about group theory.
In the margins of these notes Galois scribbles "I have not time"1.
Galois died the next day in a duel in 1832. By the end of the 19th century his ideas had become fundamental to the field of algebra.
Anyway. The first notes of spring could be felt in Brooklyn today. My kids have developed an obsession with the groundhog. I feel spring looming. I can almost feel the tulip bulbs growing - itching, scratching their way to the surface.
I have not time! I have not time!
Two things on the book front this week:
- As I write these chapter summaries that I wrote about last time - I think every chapter has 2-3 core diagrams or tables. I'm enjoying using my reMarkable tablet to sketch out new diagrams for chapters that don't have them.
- I think I found the editor that I want to work with! She's already given me a deadline. So there's that. I have not time!
Here's where the book stands right now:
Onwards. Try not to die in a duel.
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This is my second favorite margin-note by a mathematician. (This is my first). ↩