Posted on Thursday 12 June, 2014

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions

Edwin A. Abbott (1884)

A satire of Victorian society, this little book also manages to be a pretty good introduction to abstract higher geometry. Written from the perspective of an inhabitant of a two-dimensional universe, it features social descriptions, dream sequences into one dimension, a subsequent venture into three dimensions, and the narrator’s final coming to terms with his society’s inability to believe his insights.

The parallels with Gulliver’s Travels are obvious, and Abbott is a better scientist and mathematician than Swift but a less subtle satirist. Having said that, he manages to land some blows: the upper class aversion to “feeling” is probably my favourite, but his treatment of the women of Flatland and the need for (and impact of) wholesale social lying also bring a smile.

3/5. Finished Thursday 12 June, 2014.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)

Posted on Tuesday 10 June, 2014

Scholarships available to study data science in Lancaster

The University of Lancaster has a new MSc programme starting in Data Science, with lots of full scholarships. The programme is a one-year MSc that allows specialisation in computing, statistics, or environmental science. More details here.

Posted on Tuesday 3 June, 2014

Letters to a Young Poet

Rainer Maria Rilke (1929)

4/5. Finished Tuesday 3 June, 2014.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)

Posted on Sunday 25 May, 2014

An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth

Chris Hadfield (2013)

Part memoir, part self-help book, this is an excellent overview of an astronaut’s life and the mental attitudes that have made it possible. Chris Hadfield flew into space three times, and manages to share both the excitement and the boredom and attention to detail that allowed him to successfully become an astronaut and crown his career by commanding the International Space Station.

4/5. Finished Sunday 25 May, 2014.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)

Posted on Friday 16 May, 2014

Research fellowships available in Dublin

Two post-doctoral positions in smart cities now available at Trinity College Dublin. Research Fellowships in Autonomic Service-Oriented Computing for Smart Cities Applications are invited for two Postdoctoral Research Fellowships at Trinity College Dublin’s Distributed Systems Group to investigate the provision of a new service-oriented computing infrastructure that provides demand-based composition of software services interacting with a city-wide, dynamic network infrastructure. The project will investigate autonomic adaptation of services and infrastructure, ensuring resilient service provision within an integrated, city-wide system. Applicants should have a Ph.D. in Computer Science, Computer Engineering or a closely-related discipline and strong C++/C#/Java development skills. Experience with autonomic computing, service-oriented middleware, and/or smart city technologies is desirable as are strong mathematical skills. The project is supported by Science Foundation Ireland under the Principal Investigator programme between 2014-2018 and will be conducted in collaboration with Cork Institute of Technology, NUI Maynooth, IBM Smarter Cities Research Centre, Intel Intelligent Cities Lab, EMC2 Research Europe, and Arup. The position is tenable from September 2014. Please apply by email to Siobhan.Clarke@scss.tcd.ie quoting “Smart Cities Fellowship” in the subject line. Applications should include a curriculum vitae, in PDF format, giving full details of qualifications and experience, together with the names of two referees. The closing date for applications is the 20th June, 2014. Trinity College is an equal opportunities employer.