4 ms·

Thirty-three Miniatures: Applications of Linear Algebra (2012) [pdf]

346 points by matt_d 7y ago

NotOscarWilde 7y ago
Prof. Matoušek [1] was arguably one of Europe's best dual scientists/textbook writers of his time. If you are a math/CS theory persond and you are interested in picking up a book of his, I recommend "Mathematics++: Selected Topics Beyond the Basic Courses" [2]. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ji%C5%99%C3%AD_Matou%C5%A1ek_(mathematician) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ji%C5%99%C3%AD_Matou%C5%A1ek_(... [2]: https://bookstore.ams.org/stml-75 https://bookstore.ams.org/stml-75 --- Also, can't help myself but mention (in good spirits) that this is a repost: > 33 Miniatures: Mathematical and Algorithmic Applications of Linear Algebra [pdf] (cuni.cz) > 2 points by NotOscarWilde on Dec 27, 2013 | past | web
- Tomte 7y ago
  > Also, can't help myself Why? 2013, no discussion. How is that remotely interesting to anyone?
  - NotOscarWilde 7y ago
    I've updated my original answer to make it even more clear that it is a jovial observation with only a hint of envy. :-)
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- cli 7y ago
  According to his Wikipedia article, he held a professor position without a PhD. Is that usual in parts of Europe? That seems unthinkable in the US.
  - roel_v 7y ago
    It happens in Australia, too. But it's not common.
  - orr721 7y ago
    His full titles were prof. RNDr. Jiří Matoušek, DrSc; where the "DrSc" part was more than what is now recognized as a PhD. Scientific titles used to work differently in Eastern Europe.
  - raegis 7y ago
    "According to his Wikipedia article, he held a professor position without a PhD. Is that usual in parts of Europe? That seems unthinkable in the US." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Casson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Casson
  - justin66 7y ago
    Depending on the field, it's not terribly unusual for an adjunct professor not to have a PhD in the US.
  - irishsultan 7y ago
    His wikipedia article doesn't mention anything about a PhD as far as I can see, in particular it doesn't mention he didn't have one. According to https://inf.ethz.ch/news-and-events/spotlights/jiri-matousek.html https://inf.ethz.ch/news-and-events/spotlights/jiri-matousek... he did have a doctorate.
dinga 7y ago
Yay! I had a course with Prof. Matoušek: Topological methods in combinatorics and geometry. It a was mostly about using Borsuk Ulam theorem to prove other theorems in different areas. Can't remember a whole lot, except it was fascinating and beautiful.
- dinga 7y ago
  Ah yeah and of course at least a bit of Borsuk Ulam. In my own words: "for every continuous function from the n-sphere to R^n, there exists a pair of antipodal points on that sphere that will map to the same point in R^n". Example in 1-D: in a heated a metal-ring with some heat-distribution on it, there are to points exactly opposite from each other which have the same temperature.
webdva 7y ago
Thanks for kindly sharing this. The Perfect Matchings and Determinants section which relates the perfect matchings of a graph with a determinant is interesting.
dang 7y ago
A thread from 2017: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14129306 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14129306

346 points by matt_d 7y ago

Prof. Matoušek [1] was arguably one of Europe's best dual scientists/textbook writers of his time. If you are a math/CS theory persond and you are interested in picking up a book of his, I recommend "Mathematics++: Selected Topics Beyond the Basic Courses" [2]. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ji%C5%99%C3%AD_Matou%C5%A1ek_(mathematician) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ji%C5%99%C3%AD_Matou%C5%A1ek_(... [2]: https://bookstore.ams.org/stml-75 https://bookstore.ams.org/stml-75 --- Also, can't help myself but mention (in good spirits) that this is a repost: > 33 Miniatures: Mathematical and Algorithmic Applications of Linear Algebra [pdf] (cuni.cz) > 2 points by NotOscarWilde on Dec 27, 2013 | past | web

Tomte 7y ago
> Also, can't help myself Why? 2013, no discussion. How is that remotely interesting to anyone?
- NotOscarWilde 7y ago
  I've updated my original answer to make it even more clear that it is a jovial observation with only a hint of envy. :-)
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
cli 7y ago
According to his Wikipedia article, he held a professor position without a PhD. Is that usual in parts of Europe? That seems unthinkable in the US.
- roel_v 7y ago
  It happens in Australia, too. But it's not common.
- orr721 7y ago
  His full titles were prof. RNDr. Jiří Matoušek, DrSc; where the "DrSc" part was more than what is now recognized as a PhD. Scientific titles used to work differently in Eastern Europe.
- raegis 7y ago
  "According to his Wikipedia article, he held a professor position without a PhD. Is that usual in parts of Europe? That seems unthinkable in the US." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Casson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Casson
- justin66 7y ago
  Depending on the field, it's not terribly unusual for an adjunct professor not to have a PhD in the US.
- irishsultan 7y ago
  His wikipedia article doesn't mention anything about a PhD as far as I can see, in particular it doesn't mention he didn't have one. According to https://inf.ethz.ch/news-and-events/spotlights/jiri-matousek.html https://inf.ethz.ch/news-and-events/spotlights/jiri-matousek... he did have a doctorate.

dinga 7y ago

Yay! I had a course with Prof. Matoušek: Topological methods in combinatorics and geometry. It a was mostly about using Borsuk Ulam theorem to prove other theorems in different areas. Can't remember a whole lot, except it was fascinating and beautiful.

dinga 7y ago
Ah yeah and of course at least a bit of Borsuk Ulam. In my own words: "for every continuous function from the n-sphere to R^n, there exists a pair of antipodal points on that sphere that will map to the same point in R^n". Example in 1-D: in a heated a metal-ring with some heat-distribution on it, there are to points exactly opposite from each other which have the same temperature.

webdva 7y ago

Thanks for kindly sharing this. The Perfect Matchings and Determinants section which relates the perfect matchings of a graph with a determinant is interesting.

dang 7y ago

A thread from 2017: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14129306 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14129306