I had a surprise phone call yesterday from someone I haven't had contact with in over a year. This was one of my first "Friendly Scientists," who I consulted with earlier in my math and physics journey. (Name is withheld, as with all of my contacts here.) I had assumed, over the months, that he had forgotten about me, or at least was too busy to check back with me, so I didn't check back with him either. I try not to bother super-busy scientists, as you know.

When I got a phone call from him, I immediately thought that something tragic had happened. Maybe someone from his family or the scientific community was dead! But no, everyone was fine, and one of his daughters had recently gotten married. He had called just to ask how I was doing in my math and physics.

Fortunately, I was able to say that not only had I not given up after six and a half years, but I was now doing calculus and studying derivatives. I also told him that in 2005 and some of 2006 I worked on classical mechanics, as in vectors, sliding blocks, tension on cords, falling objects, etc. So though I am moving much more slowly than a student in a class would, I am indeed making progress in calculus.

He said that my experience with mathematics would influence the way I thought about the rest of my work. I know that already, because I have been thinking in terms of limits even at my day job. I explain to my co-workers that one hundred percent sign accuracy is a limit which we can approach but never quite attain, due to the nature of the job. It is asymptotic. When I use words like "asymptotic," they start looking at me strangely.

My Friendly Scientist has been a fan of my art for many years, and his wife and daughters love my work too and own some prints of it. He asked what art I was doing now, and I said I was doing portraits of character-filled buildings in Falls Church for my upcoming show. He said that he missed my "mythological" paintings and hoped that I would return to them. I kind of miss doing mythological paintings too, but don't know how or when I will go back to them. Little buildings have much more appeal to a general (and affluent) downtown audience than ancient Persian goddesses.

Speaking of things Persian, I wish a very happy NoRuz (Persian New Year) to all my Persian and Zoroastrian friends, all over the world, even in those places where it is the first day of fall, not spring.

Posted at 3:09 am | link