Why-Exactly-Is-a-Bicycle-Stable Experiments

David Jones some years ago assaulted humanity’s embarrassing lack of understanding of why moving bicycles are so stable. Jones performed a series of experiments, from which he learned some surprising things. He revealed them in this article: “The Stability of the Bicycle,” David E.H. Jones, Physics Today, April 1970, pp. 34-40. (Thanks to Catherine Klauss […]

Mathematicians’ views on delicate matters: local quivers

Mathematicians, as a group, are unafraid to confront almost any question (so long as it pertains at least hypothetically to mathematics) — even questions about delicate, local matters. Here’s an example, presented in the form of a treatise: “Local quivers and stable representations,” Jan Adriaenssens and Lieven LeBruyn [pictured here, possibly in the act of […]