Author Archives: Persiflage

Cookies for everyone!

Posted on June 25, 2018 by Persiflage

Chicago University has recently moved to two-factor authentication. While this is not itself objectionable, it is pretty annoying to have to have access my cell phone for push notifications just to be able to use MathSciNet. Fortunately, there is (at … Continue reading →

Posted in Rant | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Hear my prayer

Posted on June 17, 2018 by Persiflage

Music post! Current obsession: This plaintive choral work, possibly an incomplete fragment of an unfinished anthem, is essentially one long phrase building to a final resolution with just the right amount of dissonance. There are a number of fine recordings … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mazur 80

Posted on June 10, 2018 by Persiflage

Last week I was in Cambridge for Barry’s 80th birthday conference. If you are wondering why it took so long for Barry to get a birthday conference, that’s probably because you didn’t know that there was *also* a 60th birthday … Continue reading →

Posted in Mathematics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Upcoming Attractions

Posted on May 11, 2018 by Persiflage

There’s a packed schedule for graduate classes at Chicago next Fall: Ngô Bảo Châu on automorphic forms (TueTh 11:00-12:30), Akhil Mathew on perfectoid spaces (MWF 12:30-1:30), and George Boxer and me on (higher) Hida theory (MW 1:30-3:00). Strap yourself in! … Continue reading →

Posted in Mathematics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Nobody Cares About Your Paper

Posted on May 6, 2018 by Persiflage

I handle quite a few papers (though far fewer than other editors I know) as an associate editor at Mathematische Zeitschrift. Since the acceptance rate at Math Zeit is something in the neighbourhood of 20%, there are certainly good papers … Continue reading →

Posted in Mathematics, Politics, Rant | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Chicago Seminar Roundup

Posted on April 28, 2018 by Persiflage

Here are two questions I had about the past two number theory seminars. I haven’t had the opportunity to think about either of them seriously, so they may be easy (or more likely stupid). Anthony Várilly-Alvarado: Honestly, I’ve never quite … Continue reading →

Posted in Mathematics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The boundaries of Sato-Tate, part I

Posted on April 8, 2018 by Persiflage

A caveat: the following questions are so obvious that they have surely been asked elsewhere, and possibly given much more convincing answers. References welcome! The Sato-Tate conjecture implies that the normalized trace of Frobenius \(b_p \in [-2,2]\) for a non-CM … Continue reading →

Posted in Mathematics | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Australiana

Posted on March 29, 2018 by Persiflage

Some short observations from my recent trip: Only in the same sense as Captain Renault could you possibly be shocked (shocked!) by what Bancroft drops into his pants. The 90th percentile quality coffee in Melbourne (random mall coffee) is at … Continue reading →

Posted in Coffee, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Fan Mail

Posted on February 14, 2018 by Persiflage

Edit: A previous version of this post has been edited upon request. Somewhat less salaciously, I received a Christmas card from an academic couple of whom I am absolutely sure I have never met. (I just checked my mailbox at … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Alinea

Posted on February 7, 2018 by Persiflage

Fresh off my dining experiences in Jerusalem, I returned home for some more local dining. From smoked juniper bushes to edible stones, I arrived at Alinea fearing that I would be underwhelmed but left leaving very happy. Rather than try … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment