4 ms·
The intended reader was his sister, who he sent the letter to. This was a private letter, not a publication. His sister had evidentially asked him about his wo
by HarHarVeryFunny 2y ago
The intended reader was his sister, who he sent the letter to. This was a private letter, not a publication.
His sister had evidentially asked him about his work (maybe to give him something positive to talk about given that he was in prison).
"Some thoughts I have had of late, concerning my
arithmetic-algebraic work, might pass for a re-
sponse to one of your letters, where you asked me
what is of interest to me in my work. So, I decided
to write them down, even if for the most part they
are incomprehensible to you."
It might seem condescending to speak to his sister like this, but perhaps he understood her intent well enough, and was essentially acknowledging it.
- samstave 2y agoLikely even less so... That was likely just how colloquially he is saying to his kin "Tahnks for prodding me about what I thought of my work... so Ill put some write it out here, for good measure, so dont worry if you dont get it..." Basically he is saying, let me document this for myself, at the appreciated behest of sis.
- drdec 2y ago> let me document this for myself, at the appreciated behest of sis. Tell me you live in the information age without telling me you live in the information age
- kergonath 2y agoDo not get upset on behalf of his sister. You do not know either her or him. Besides, she was perfectly able to get upset and make it known on her own.
- vixen99 2y agoMaybe not everyone knows that the sister was Simone - much better known than her brother in the world outside mathematics.