Cambridge

I recently went to Cambridge to give a talk in the Numerical Analysis Seminar. It was, truthfully, quite an honor and I will try to refrain from further boasting. The fact is there are a few ways to get invited to speak at Cambridge. The most notable method is to become a world leader in your field. My method was slightly less noble, but equally effective. At Edinburgh, our reading group hosted a speaker from Cambridge and we all went to dinner. I walked him home, slyly mentioned I had never been to Cambridge, and that I would love to see the medieval colleges. Shortly thereafter, I received an invitation. “Knock, and the door shall be opened.”

I will first tell you that when you meet someone from Cambridge, they are certain to tell you where they are from, even more so than academics from Harvard, Yale, or MIT. It is just cultural, they want you to know they are from Cambridge. There have been a few notable students and faculty at Cambridge. I’ll give the example of Sir Isaac Newton, who among his many accomplishments, graced us with calculus. In my biased opinion, this is indeed his greatest contribution as Newtonian mechanics are simply inexpressible without calculus, but calculus is completely independent from physics. In fact, calculus has a fantastically larger footprint than Newtonian mechanics. (To be academic, Newton shares the invention of calculus with Liebniz, and of course Newton did not invent the calculus we know and love today, but laid its foundation. I’m getting a bit off topic here.) My point is I found this need to announce affiliation with Cambridge to be a bit obnoxious, yet here I hypocritically post about speaking there. Having been there, I can see to a degree why one would let this little piece of information (affiliation of some sort with Cambridge) slip into the very early stages of conversation. The place is amazing in its history, architecture, atmosphere, landscaping, bravado, traditions, administrative structure, formality, class system, commercialization, and reputation. There's a reason that Harvard, the first institution of higher education in the USA, was founded in a town named Cambridge, Massachusetts.

You are not permitted to walk on the grass. Well, you are not permitted to walk on the grass unless accompanied by a Fellow of the college. There is actually a sign at the entrance to the colleges stating this exception to the “Keep of the Grass” signs. This is a way of compensating the senior faculty by giving them status. It was interesting to watch fellows walk across the grass. This was done less as a shortcut, and more to announce that indeed they were a fellow of the college while tourists and students walking along the stone pathways watched the fellow in the grass, unable to look away and providing this ingenious, currency-free compensation. Even trying to consider it objectively, I could not help but watch the fellows walk across the lawn, nor could I bear to see a student cut a corner.

One of the most amazing things about Cambridge is the mathematical facility, The Centre for Mathematical Sciences. It is a humungous compound, completely dedicated to the mathematical sciences including physics. There is certainly nothing to match it on the rest of our planet. You might not know any of the mathematicians, but this is where the famous physicist Stephen Hawking works. (I didn't drop in; I don't think he was expecting me.)

I could ramble on, but this is a blog and you’re already tired of reading. I’ll finish with some photos. The photos from above were taken from the top of the bell tower of St. Mary the Great University Church.

Here are some photos of King’s College. My host was once a PhD student at King's College so he is a lifetime member. He was gracious enough to take me to Evensong, a choral evening prayer service featuring the amazing Choir of King's College. You’ll notice the sign warning of doom for treading on the grass. The building behind me, was the location of dinner. The students of the college live in these buildings, surrounded by the walls. Tourists pay to enter.






The following photos are of St. John’s college.



This is inside the living area of St. John's College. These are essentially dorms for Cambridge undergrads. (Looks just like Newman Hall.)

The tower in the distance to the right in this next one is St. John's Chapel, the same tower from the photo above.


In the picture above, the college in between St. John's and Kings (to the left of this photo frame) is Trinity College. Finally, some of the Gardens of Trinity College and some pics of the River Cam.





I’ll post again shortly with a few more photos of a lighter nature. I might have incorrectly identified some of my photos, so if you're from Cambridge and I said something wrong, I hope you didn't just choke on something in reaction to my ignorance.