Focus on new 2-vol. set: The Harmonic Mind

This 2006, 2-volume MIT Press set will be useful to cognitive scientists, linguists, computational linguists, and other brave souls daring enough to dive into provocative and controversial questions, such as "what type of computation is cognition?" (I don't know...is cognition computation?) The first couple sentences from the Preface: "The goal of this book is twofold: to present a proposal for a cognitive architecture- with particular attention to the language faculty - and to instantiate a formal, aggressively interdisciplinary conception of cognitive science." And who are the authors of this set? Paul Smolensky is a professor of cognitive science at Johns Hopkins, as is Geraldine Legendre. Legendre is also a preeminent syntactician of French. Check these out, on the shelf in Swain Hall Library at QA76.87 .S623 2006

Tutoring in Swain Hall Library

What's going on in this picture snapped this morning? First year Master's of Education student Neal Gleitz (foreground) is tutoring Adam Mahomed (Junior, Biology major) for his summer P201 course, General Physics. Neal recently received his BS in Physics from IU and seems to be moving toward a career in education. Neal also had reference questions recently about when people (young kids, young adults) are ready to handle certain concepts in mathematics and physics. P201 is particularly tough in the summer because the pace of the course is accelerated, and tutoring sessions can frequently be seen within these walls.
An interesting map would be a cluster map showing where individuals were when something finally sunk in, when they said to themselves "I get it". Where are people when they have these Eureka moments on campus? Is it in the classroom? The library? I would argue that the libraries are not only the foundation, but represent the keystone in our university's ability to offer the best learning environment possible for students.

The Hazards of Checking out Books, then Leaving Town

Hello everyone, this is a message mostly for the graduate students, who, for the most part, I think are terrific people. Do you remember the scene from Planet of the Apes when Charleton Heston gives his brief "You maniacs!" sililoquy? Well, it perfectly depicts the way we feel when you gather 30 of the most heavily used science and math books from the Swain Hall Library, check them out, glance at a couple at your kitchen table, then lock them in your apartment and fly off for your month-long, leisurely walking tour of Finland. This poses problems for borrowers, potential borrowers, and the library has to enforce the Recall-Overdue bills and fines policy. While it's a little late in the summer to be sending this note, I hope it doesn't fall on deaf ears. Return books before taking off, so I don't have to see you looking like this. Avoid fines by using material you can return within a few days.

Opening Ceremonies at the National Science Olympiad Tournament, Indiana University

Opening ceremonies last night at Assembly Hall, the crowd was colorful, rowdy, and ready to pursue science and bring home the prize. Minutes before the parade of states, cameras randomly project images on the big screen for all to enjoy.




How about these three fellows from Division B Pembroke Hill Middle School, Kansas City Missouri? pH...Neutralizing the Competition. Catchy...catchy. Good Luck guys!
I've never seen a crowd with more potential than this gathering, with their outlandish novelty glasses, flourescent t-shirts, and mysterious, flashing, personally modified and customized belt-clip-on-electronic devices. Here's to environmentally sound scientific advances.

Focus on Mushkhelishvili's 1946 Singular Integral Equations

See Math Reviews, reviewed by W.J. Trjitzinsky, there are 70 review citations. QA431 .M98
This is in the Swain Hall Library and there are a few other copies in regional libraries and the ALF.

This 2nd edition was published by P. Noordhoff LTD, and get a load of this dust jacket (courtesy of retired IU Math professor John Synowiec).

Comments on Books 24X7

There's a good selection of computing material, but the automatic logoff due to inactivity is way too short. It's common for me to have to logon several times when I'm trying to do work.
Josh Herring
PhD Candidate, Computational Linguistics
Department of Linguistics
College of Arts and Sciences
Indiana University, Bloomington
(expected to earn degree in 2008, provided excessive login prompts from Books 24X7 don't set him back a few semesters...)

Mathematics Annex to Disappear

I don't know if a date has been set, but it seems likely that the Mathematics Annex, directly across the street from Rawles Hall on the south side of 3rd st. will be removed this summer. Up until now it has been where first year graduate students sit, so I'm curious if or to what degree this will affect gate count, or if there will be a perceptible change in the use of the Swain Hall Library space. It is an interesting looking house, for example, the large limestone flat slabs leading up to the porch are impressive. Have a look while it's still there.

Text bite, Vol. 1, #5

Who needs Google when we've got each other?

Liz Bryson, Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Corp.,
May 17, 2006 pamnet post (physics, astronomy, mathematics library listserv) sent 36 minutes after sending a note to pamnet readers asking if anyone could quickly get her a 1988 SPIE Proceedings paper that was not readily available from interlibrary loan.

What should the library be?

This book is a compilation of the papers published after a 1949 Harvard University sponsored, 2-day conference examining the role of the library at universities. I have to say this is obviously way out of date, and some of the analysis and assessment is utter nonsense or irrelevant. Nevertheless, there are some interesting sections in this book, and it's worth picking up and reading through, if for no other reason than it prompts one to reflect on what a university is. Many of the same issues discussed then are being worked on by librarians and faculty today. There's an IU copy in the ALF, have a look if you want a glimpse into the university library and its problems 50 years ago.

George H.L. Fletcher wins 1st Purdom Award, $25,000

The Computer Science Department recently announced that George Fletcher is the first recipient of the Paul Purdom Fellowship in Informatics. Congratulations George! The Award was made possible through the Chin-Cheng Wu Foundation for Peace and Humanity (Wu graduated from IU in 1977 w/ Masters in CS, and is founder of Acopia Networks, see IU Press Release). And what about Professor Paul Purdom? Paul's been on the Swain Hall Library Committee for as long as I've been here, and he's an valuable consultant, offering advice and often bringing clarity and action to library-related issues. It's interesting to me, why is it that the PhDs, graduate students, and undergrads that we know by name here in the library (we know them because they're constantly in and around the library) also happen to be the same people walking away with awards, fellowships, and job offers from places like Google? Hmm...which brings us to the word of the day: Correlation. If you look at the 1.c. definition "In Statistics, an interdependence of two or more variable quantities such that a change in the value of one is associated with a change in the value or the expectation of the others". Correlate. As a verb, it means to have a mutual relation, to be correlative (with or to another). Brought to you by the IU Libraries, the online version of the Oxford English Dictionary.

Focus on IU Preservation Repaired Books

I take great delight in getting books back from our friends in Preser- vation. Not only are these books ready for action, with handsome new covers and legible spines, but they catch the eye of the casual browser in the stacks and can suggest past use.
Seeing books from Preservation is a browsing, visual cue that says "hey, this is probably an influential book."
Thanks Preservation! You make Indiana University Libraries better by keeping these books in good shape.

John Nash DVD in Kent Cooper

Last night I watched "A Brilliant Madness" (2002), the PBS American Experience biography of Princeton mathematician John Nash. Although he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia (dramatized in the Ron Howard film "A Beautiful Mind" (starring Russell Crowe), based on the book by Sylvia Nasar), Nash ended up winning the Nobel Prize in 1994 for his work that became the foundation of modern economics.
Nasar's biography of him is available in many of the dorm libraries and B-Wells, and there are also multiple copies of the film A Beautiful Mind in Bloomington and regional libraries. There's just this one copy of "A Brilliant Madness" (60 min.) and it's worth watching, QA29.N25 B74 2002 (in the Kent Cooper Room).

Focus on Feynman

It's the end of the semester; it's a time of stress, dyspepsia, anxiety, and returning books. What better time to "Focus on Feynman". His Lectures on Physics are as popular as ever.
And don't forget, Swain Hall Library also has these videos available to all.

Last Tuesday's Math Mystery...Solved!

Did Junxiong Xia come by to pick up his book? No, but math graduate student Chun-Hsiung Hsia did come by. Based on an anonymous tip today, we contacted Hsia and he's reunited with his math book on curves and surfaces.
Thanks anonymous...well, we're learning as we go. (It's not uncommon for me to be referred to as Bob Knoll in print).