Shame

I was intending to stay away from the blog for some time, but two news items on TV changed my mind. One was the state-sponsored violence in Gurgaon, and the other featured Air India, the National Carrier and the Honourable Minister for Civil Aviation.What follows might not be very coherent and is probably very disjointed. Here goes, all the same.

Ilaiyaraja, the uncrowned King

I read a little while back that George Gershwin was considered an outcast in the American classical music scene, for daring to mix Jazz with Classical music. Unfair, I thought. The good news is that Gershwin’s pieces are slowly making their way into many classical artiste’s repertoires. I’ve heard Balazs Szokolay play Gershwin’s Three Preludes on the Piano ( Romantic Piano Classics , a Naxos release). It is a treat to listen!

The Yankees had George Gershwin, we have Ilaiyaraja. If ever there was a musician/composer who got fewer accolades than he deserved, it is he.

The Number of the Beast

Here is Wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six

- The Book of Revelations, Chapter 13, Verse 18

I thought this devilish reputation was all that was there to the number 666; it looks like there’s much more to it than just a bad name ;)

Apparently more than one mathematician has found this number fascinating . I wonder if this was why St. Augustine said:

“The good Christian should beware of mathematicians and all those who make empty prophecies. The danger already exists that mathematicians have made a covenant with the devil to darken the spirit and confine man in the bonds of hell.”

I can’t find a reference for this quote, except for Morris Kline’s “Mathematics in Western Culture”.

Anyway, I was puzzled by the St. Augustine quote (why would he want to hate mathematicians anyway?) until I later found that he was actually referring to astrologers rather than people who worked with mathematics. Which is not to say that those times were kind to people who liked to learn; the history of Hypatia is a case in point.

Here end today’s ramblings.

Enjoy the Shade, Stupid Frog

“Thunbamodu Inbam kalandhadhu Prapancham;
Veyyil Illaiyel Nizhalil Inbamum undo”

“Sorrow and Joy, are inseparable in this World;
If not for the harsh Sun, would we ever find pleasure
under the shade of a Tree?”

Semmangudi 2

I take back most (but not all) of what I said about Semmangudi’s singing. I listened to Semmangudi’s “Airport Concert” that Shencottah had recommended to me – unfortunately, the Keeravani piece was nowhere to be found in this collection :(Before you, gentle reader, jump to the conclusion that I have become a Semmangudi fan, let me set a few things straight:

MIT blog survey :-)

I too, am a Statistic ;-)