For my second book review, I want to try a controversial book by a masterful comedian. I have watched George Carlin do his routines for many many many years and I think that his comedic observations, while supposedly given mainly for laughs, are filled with "life lessons" for us all.
The book I am reviewing was purchased at Big Lots for $3, at the same time it was offered at Borders for $14. Why would that be? I suspect that the book ("A New York Times Bestseller") was not such a great seller in other parts of the country, and was considered a "remainder" where Big Lots obtained it.
The title, and even the cover picture would probably anger some customers. The picture is a take-off of Leonardo da Vinci's fresco in the refectory of the Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. (For a marvelous study of this painting, go to http://www.jaydax.co.uk/lastsupper/lastsupper.htm
George has inserted himself into the painting.. squeezing himself next to an empty chair where Jesus Christ is supposed to sit. George has his modern day knife and fork at the ready and is saying the "outrageous" title of the book: "When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?"
This book is filled with jokes and sayings by George.. many of them should not be repeated in polite society. But, regardless of how you feel about this, George has some great observations about this crazy world we live in. I believe that since this is a book review, to give you a feel for what is in the book, I can mention some of these observations without incurring a law suit.
Euphemism Examples:
Toilet paper has become bathroom tissue.
Second-hand clothing is now vintage apparel.
Answering machines are now voice-processing systems.
Reruns are now encore presentations.
And (maybe, according to George) this trend may lead us to sayings like:
The opera isn't concluded until the full-figured woman offers a vocal rendering. (ouch!)
or:
In the kingdom of the visually impaired, the partially-sighted person is fully empowered.
Segue: I often told the original of that phrase to my son, Chris. "In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king." This was my way of teaching the "work ethic." One day, much to my surprise and pleasure, he presented me with a nameplate to be used on the Branch Chief desk that I occupied at Social Security.
The nameplate read: Joe Vaughan, One-eyed Chief.
Mr. Carlin makes lots of other observations that I like, such as:
"I was looking in the mirror the other day and I realized I haven't changed much since I was in my twenties. The only difference is I look a whole lot older now." (How true!)
"If you vote once, you're considered a good citizen. If you vote twice, you face four years in jail."
"I drove past a school with a sign that said WE'RE DRUG-FREE AND GUN-FREE. Later that day I drove past another school that didn't have a sign like that. What am I supposed to infer from this about that school?"
George also tells a lot of great jokes in the book. An example:
..................................
J: I heard ... died. What happened?
S: It's the strangest thing. He was walkin' down Fifth Avenue on the way to Times Square. He took a right at Forty-second Street and headed over to Broadway. He was just strollin' along, mindin' his own business, when suddenly a big chunk of concrete fell on him and crushed him to death.
J: ... What a way to go!
S: I know. I woulda taken a right at Fiftieth Street, gone over to Broadway and then headed down to Times Square.
...................................
I'm sure you get the idea from my comments on these examples that I enjoyed this book. It was probably one of the last ones he wrote before his untimely death. I heartily recommend it to you.. unless you are easily shocked. Some of the language is crude and insulting and often juvenile... but remember what George tried to remind us:
Sticks and stones can break our bones,
But words can never hurt us.
I will not drop this book off for anyone else to read because I want to keep it in order to dip into it from time to time .. especially when I find that I am taking myself too seriously.
... Oh.. before I forget.. George put a quote in the beginning of the book that rings true with me as I now read another interesting book: In My Time, by Dick Cheney. The quote is from Hermann Goering, at the Nueremberg War Trials, just before he committed suicide:
"Of course the people don't want war. But, after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine that policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."
How true, George.. thank you for reminding us .. too bad we keep forgetting this.
Rest In Peace!
..............................................................................................................................................
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Poincare's Prize by George G. Szpiro
One of life's little joys is finding an interesting book in an unlikely place. Such was the joy I had in finding this book at a Dollar Store. I always look through the sections where "remainders" are offered for the usual $1. These are books that haven't sold in the regular book stores.
I find that books written by unsucessful politicians find their way to the Dollar Store because nobody wants to waste time reading them... and usually, neither do I. Sometimes books show up because they look too difficult to read. Such, I'm sure was the case with this book by mathematician and journalist, George Szpiro.
Poincare's Prize or The Hundred-Year Quest to Solve One of Math's Greatest Puzzles
Monsieur Henri Poincare (accent on the last e .. the Brits pronounce his name: Pon ca ray) died in the Titanic year of 1912, at Paris, where he was Professor of Mathematical Astronomy at the University, Member of the French Academy and the Academe des Sciences. He was 58 years old and one of the great minds of the 19th and 20th centuries.
In 1904, he had made the following unproven conjecture: (according to a "simplified" entry I found in Wikipedia)
Every simply connected, closed 3-manifold is homeomorphic to the 3-sphere... or:
If a 3-manifold is homotopy equivalent to the 3-sphere, then it is necessarily homeomorphic to it.
For almost one hundred years, mathematicians tried to find some way to prove this conjecture and earn a prize of one million dollars. Finally, in 2003, a semi-recluse Russian named Grigori Perelman came up with that elusive proof. He was offered the $1,000,000 prize.....he turned it down. He felt that he didn't deserve it because other mathematicians had laid the groundwork that allowed him to come up with the proof.
For somewhat clearer information about Doctor Poincare and his conjecture, visit:
http://www.claymath.org/poincare/
Now, I am not a mathematician. I did manage to pass basic Algebra, which I took in High School, for fun, along with my cousin, Charlie And, at one time, I was told by my grandfather that I had been an Idiot Savant as a young child.. able to answer addition and subtraction problems instantaneously in my head. (However, knowing my grandfather, he may have been "pulling my leg, although I do vaguely remember people giving me numbers to add or subtract when I was a very yooung kid." )
I vigorously avoided all mathematics classes in college.
My grandfather did introduce me to the wonder of Moebius strips and showed me how I could have fun with them.
That has been my only exposure to "higher" mathematics. So, why the Devil did I go to the trouble of reading this complicated book?
The answer is simply that in my dotage, I still want to learn all that I can before I kick off this topological sphere.. and besides that, the book reads like a mystery story.
Mr. Szpiro takes the reader into the lives of all of the mathematicians who have been trying to solve this problem for one hundred years, and, I have to admit, these are mostly weird people, even by my very liberal standards... That, of course, makes them very interesting to read about. I enjoyed this book.
One question bothers me though. Why isn't Monsieur Poincare or his conjecture mentioned in Bill Bryson's book A Short History of Nearly Everything, considering that lots of information uncovered by mathematicians during their quest to solve the problem has been used in important endeavors, such as the U.S. Space Program.
I'm going to drop this book off at an "unofficial library" spot and see if anybody picks it up to read.
..................................................................................................
I find that books written by unsucessful politicians find their way to the Dollar Store because nobody wants to waste time reading them... and usually, neither do I. Sometimes books show up because they look too difficult to read. Such, I'm sure was the case with this book by mathematician and journalist, George Szpiro.
Poincare's Prize or The Hundred-Year Quest to Solve One of Math's Greatest Puzzles
Monsieur Henri Poincare (accent on the last e .. the Brits pronounce his name: Pon ca ray) died in the Titanic year of 1912, at Paris, where he was Professor of Mathematical Astronomy at the University, Member of the French Academy and the Academe des Sciences. He was 58 years old and one of the great minds of the 19th and 20th centuries.
In 1904, he had made the following unproven conjecture: (according to a "simplified" entry I found in Wikipedia)
Every simply connected, closed 3-manifold is homeomorphic to the 3-sphere... or:
If a 3-manifold is homotopy equivalent to the 3-sphere, then it is necessarily homeomorphic to it.
For almost one hundred years, mathematicians tried to find some way to prove this conjecture and earn a prize of one million dollars. Finally, in 2003, a semi-recluse Russian named Grigori Perelman came up with that elusive proof. He was offered the $1,000,000 prize.....he turned it down. He felt that he didn't deserve it because other mathematicians had laid the groundwork that allowed him to come up with the proof.
For somewhat clearer information about Doctor Poincare and his conjecture, visit:
http://www.claymath.org/poincare/
Now, I am not a mathematician. I did manage to pass basic Algebra, which I took in High School, for fun, along with my cousin, Charlie And, at one time, I was told by my grandfather that I had been an Idiot Savant as a young child.. able to answer addition and subtraction problems instantaneously in my head. (However, knowing my grandfather, he may have been "pulling my leg, although I do vaguely remember people giving me numbers to add or subtract when I was a very yooung kid." )
I vigorously avoided all mathematics classes in college.
My grandfather did introduce me to the wonder of Moebius strips and showed me how I could have fun with them.
That has been my only exposure to "higher" mathematics. So, why the Devil did I go to the trouble of reading this complicated book?
The answer is simply that in my dotage, I still want to learn all that I can before I kick off this topological sphere.. and besides that, the book reads like a mystery story.
Mr. Szpiro takes the reader into the lives of all of the mathematicians who have been trying to solve this problem for one hundred years, and, I have to admit, these are mostly weird people, even by my very liberal standards... That, of course, makes them very interesting to read about. I enjoyed this book.
One question bothers me though. Why isn't Monsieur Poincare or his conjecture mentioned in Bill Bryson's book A Short History of Nearly Everything, considering that lots of information uncovered by mathematicians during their quest to solve the problem has been used in important endeavors, such as the U.S. Space Program.
I'm going to drop this book off at an "unofficial library" spot and see if anybody picks it up to read.
..................................................................................................
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)