Arnold’s view of Russian vs. American mathematicians

The late, colorful Russian mathematician Vladimir Igorevich Arnold [pictured here] discussed how certain nations are famed for the way their mathematicians go about mathematicianing. This is from an interview he gave to S.H. Lui (and published in the Notices of the American Mathematical Society, in 1997): QUESTION: Do you notice any differences in the way people from […]

Russian research on naked swimmers & wild dolphins

Olympic swimmers owe some of their success to research done by a Russian scientist. Here’s a look  back at our look back at his work: Yuri Glebovich Aleyev used an electric winch to tow naked women under water at speeds of two to four metres per second. Later, his colleagues, when they peered at Aleyev’s […]

Colorful Russian Mathematicians: V.I. Arnold

Russia is an efficient producer of colorful mathematicians. Leonid Polterovich wrote an appreciation of one of them, Vladimir Igorevich Arnold [pictured here]. It’s called “Remembering V.I. Arnold, 1937-2010.” and begins: “Those who know the material will not learn anything new, and those who do not know it will not understand anything.” —V.I. Arnold about a badly written […]