Author Archives: Persiflage

NT Seminar: A haruspicy

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Persiflage

Following JSE’s advice, I will blog on something that I know absolutely nothing about. Apologies in advance for mathematical errors! SLM gave a number theory seminar this week about the first Betti number of \(\Gamma(n)\) — as \(n\) varies — … Continue reading →

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Number theory and 3-manifolds

Posted on January 13, 2013 by Persiflage

It used to be the case that the Langlands programme could be used to say something interesting about arithmetic 3-manifolds qua hyperbolic manifolds. Now, after the work of Agol, Wise, and others has blown the subject to smithereens, this gravy … Continue reading →

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Where even the flat tax is a liberal dream

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Persiflage

As Democrats and Republicans squabble over the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, it’s worth noting that at least in one corner of America, even the flat tax is considered too progressive. It used to be the case that if … Continue reading →

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Classic Papers in Number Theory

Posted on December 27, 2012 by Persiflage

One of my students came to me with the idea of having a reading course on “classic papers in number theory”. The idea is for everyone to spend the week reading a particular paper, and then have one student lead … Continue reading →

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Olfactory Dreams

Posted on December 24, 2012 by Persiflage

I was having dinner with NB at a restaurant, when I noticed that several patrons at nearby tables were smoking. I found this a little bit peculiar, in part because smoking is illegal in Chicago restaurants, but mostly because NB … Continue reading →

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5 x 5

Posted on December 21, 2012 by Persiflage

Perhaps my favourite non-classical album is Time Out by the Dave Brubeck quartet. The most well known piece from that album is “Take Five”, and not undeservedly so. Its distinctive time signature is instantly recognizable, and the saxaphone hook sounds … Continue reading →

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A plea to my Australian readers

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Persiflage

It used to be the case that one could listen to grandstand’s coverage of the cricket while following along on cricinfo. Now, the ABC blocks anyone with an IP address outside of Australia from listening in. Does anyone in Australia … Continue reading →

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The Two Cultures of Mathematics: A Rebuttal

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Persiflage

Gowers writes thoughtfully about combinatorics here, in an essay which references Snow’s famous lectures (or famous amongst mathematicians – I’ve never met anyone else who has ever heard of them). The trouble, however, starts (as it often does) with the … Continue reading →

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Hilbert Modular Forms of Partial Weight One, Part II

Posted on December 8, 2012 by Persiflage

Anyone who spends any time thinking about Hilbert modular forms of partial weight one — see part I — should, at some point, wonder whether there actually exist any examples, besides the “trivial” examples arising as inductions of Grossencharacters. Fred … Continue reading →

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There are no unramified abelian extensions of Q (almost)

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Persiflage

In my class on modularity, I decided to explain what Wiles’ argument (in the minimal case) would look like for \(\mathrm{GL}(1)/F\). There are two ways one can go with this. On the one hand, one can try to prove (say) … Continue reading →

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