Category Archives: Uncategorized

Report from Luminy

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Persiflage

For how long has Luminy been infested with bloodthirsty mosquitoes? The combination of mosquitoes in my room with the fact that my bed was 6′ long with a completely unnecessary headboard (which meant that I had to sleep on an … Continue reading →

Posted in Mathematics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Robert Coleman

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Persiflage

I was very sad to learn that, after a long illness with multiple sclerosis, Robert Coleman has just died. Robert’s influence on mathematics is certainly obvious to all of us in the field. Most of my personal interaction with him … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Fundamental Curve of p-adic Hodge Theory, Part II

Posted on August 12, 2013 by Persiflage

This is a second post from JW, following on from Part I. The Galois group of \(\mathbb{Q}_p\) as a geometric fundamental group. In this follow-up post, I’d like to relay something Peter Scholze told me last fall. It concerns the … Continue reading →

Posted in Mathematics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Straight from the top to the bottom

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Persiflage

Possibly the worst programme on radio is NPR’s “from the top.” Ostensibly the show is about showcasing young performers in classical music. Yet, in reality, it is all about the incredibly annoying host, Christopher O’Riley, for whom condescension has become … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Stephen Fry

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Persiflage

Never let it be said that this blog shies away from confronting sacred cows. Today’s target: Stephen Fry. In the video below, Fry tries to have his cake and eat it too — calling out grammar pedants for “showing off … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Mathematics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

András Schiff Plays Bach

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Persiflage

The first Bach CD I ever bought was András Schiff’s recording of the Well Tempered Clavier. My memory is a little hazy, but I think I paid almost $100 (AUS) for the 4-CD set (I ordered it through Allans Music … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

How I deal with technical support

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Persiflage

I usually manage to avoid having to make any of those annoying calls to banks, credit card companies, utility companies, etc. because DW does it all for me. However, there are times (for example, when things are in my name) … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized, Waffle | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Schoenberg

Posted on October 28, 2012 by Persiflage

The best show on television…is surely classic arts showcase. It’s RAGE for classical music, by which I mean something like an eclectic classical music version of MTV (during the 80’s). Given the limited range of classical music that makes it … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

En Passant

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Persiflage

Several times in NYC, I’ve had the chance to visit Eataly, an italian food court/upscale delicatessen run by Mario Batali. You can either sit down at one of the various restaurants for an antipasto plate with a glass of wine, … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Mathematics, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment