Mathematicians ARE Cool

Today my fabulous Russian lecturer in Set Theory gave analogies using Facebook. Did you know that friendship is symmetric whilst friendship with yourself in an irreflexive relationship? We are "connected" not just socially but by definition, oh yes, and friendship with other people is not transitive; though I think that one is pretty obvious.

But if you needed more evidence for the fact that mathematicians are indeed Cool then look no further than the Bristol University Maths Department academic staff listing. That's ito. Now, click on the individual professors names to check out their funky profiles... here are a few of my favourites so you don't have to hunt:

He's rad, he's down wid it, he's Dr Dendrinos
Who's shocked that Carl's got a PhD in physics?
Professor The Man is so slick...
Helfgott, wasn't he in Harry Potter?
I just have a soft spot for this dude, Probability legend and now my supervisor, he looks SO cute in this photo! (Close call, he just came and had a chat with me while I was writing this! Lol, he's cute in real life too, reminds me of my Biology teacher at school ;-p)
ARGGGHH!
Token female representative. A very nice lady, helped me unregister for a year abroad when I first came (though it seemed that was not God's long term plan!). Would be destined to be her if only I could actually do maths...
And last but not least, the piece de resistance, Volkov, god of maths.

I asked the department secretary what went on there and I can confirm that they got in a professional photographer just to take the photos. How crazy are these catz.

Sadly though, I am nowhere near being this cool. Today in Set Class (otherwise known as V for the geeks out there that might get my appalling joke) I was elected the "volunteer" questioner. Which meant I had to interact with the teaching (try doing that when you're only just keeping up). At one point I was asked for an example of a not well-ordered set... and I said the natural numbers! :-O Now, that may seem irrelevant, obscure, insignificant, niche nay boring; but try being in your final year of maths at university and forgetting where the counting starts...