memory place identity

Hi I don't remember who raised their hands for learning math for art + media research, but I spoke with some of you about doing a study group.   This Fall I will invest some energy into doing this properly with the TML researchers.

There is an order to things:

Fall:

Linear Algebra

ODE's

intro to  Dynamical Systems

intro to Statistical Physics 

Winter

Topics:

Monte Carlo methods

Spectral methods 

(for PhD, philosophical work)

intro Differential Geometry

intro Topology

intro Measure Theory 

So we should move fast but do it well.   Take turns teaching each other.  I can give some orienting talks for Linear Algebra and ODE's and intro Dynamical Systems.   You must do or try to do exercises.

I will commit some of my time this Fall to work with you on this, but I expect you to do it smart, for big payoff: supple (not brittle gappy) knowledge.  This means you guys taking turns to lead the group.    Pick topics to absorb and present in working group.  For example Michael  can do a series on Monte Carlo for the group.

 I will work with the presenter in 1-1.   Everyone must do exercises.   I will not check or grade them or provide answers so recommend you work for example from Schaum outline series (or equivalent -- there are many texts with worked exercises).  I will pay for texts that we decide are useful.

Winter I will not have time for hand-holding, but at that point you should be ready to do special topics.  And then we can maybe also enroll new experts (Adrian?) if they have time and are suitably rewarded ;)

Then the audience splits into two: programmers / "makers", and writers / "theorists".

If the PhD's are interested, at that point, for those of you who have the basics, then I can give intros to some of the "real" math from riemannian geometry, point set topology, measure theory... with theorems and maybe one or two arguments to give you a flavor of how the theorems are made.    This will be off the cuff, but as real as we can make it.   I will not expect you to create proofs unless you can, but by the end of the year.  (someday :)  but by the end of the year, it would be great if you can follow a proof and understand some of the process of propositional adventure to which Stengers gestured.

This would be more useful for the philosophical investigations and for graduate research in engineering than for hacking.  Different audience different purpose, and different level of sophistication.  So it's up to you.  But by then I should have written the last chapter that I'll be revising: the math chapter.   We can decide in December.

After the ATACD (topology and cultural dynamics) conference in Barcelona, and this  recent one in Aberdeen on Lit+Math, I think there's definitely an opening for a new generation of informed discourse.  But I would very much like to do it in a way that is much more sophisticated as to mathematical content and to the ethos.  (Can you say "structuralism" ?!)   A symptom of the problem: Badiou-ismo.  This may prep the PhDs for readings of Deleuze, Simondon, Badiou, Plotnitsky, Petitot, Connes etc.

Cheers,

Xin Wei

________________________________________________________________________________

Sha Xin Wei, Ph.D.

Visiting Scholar • French and Italian Department • Stanford University

Canada Research Chair • Associate Professor • Design and Computation Arts • Concordia University

Director, Topological Media Lab • topologicalmedialab.net/  •  topologicalmedialab.net/xinwei

+1-650-815-9962 • 

 

1-514-817-3505 (m)  

• skype: shaxinwei • 

calendar

________________________________________________________________________________