Klarinet Archive - Posting 000220.txt from 2003/02

From: Dan Leeson <leeson0@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Castelnuovo-Tedesco Question
Date: Sun, 9 Feb 2003 11:44:18 -0500

It's absolutely true. The opportunity for a mathematician to do really
creative work almost evaporates after the age of 30. They are simply
too set in their ways, they begin ancestor worship, etc.

Sir Isaac Newton, who was one of the best, did all of his great work by
the time he was 17. And the greatest of them all, Alvariste Galois,
died at 21 with only one paper to his name, but that one paper
revolutionized modern matheatmics.

However, once these fabulous minds settle into middle age, they do some
pretty good work.

Dan

Forest E. Aten Jr. wrote:
> Dan,
>
> I recently listened to an interview on NPR with a contemporary
> mathematician/author promoting his newest book. The book noted this
> phenomena of "original" thought in younger minds. He documented this using a
> historical review of math breakthroughs and noting the age of the
> mathematician at the time. It seems that the older the mathematician the
> more "set in their ways".....a few anomalies...but not many in his
> historical review.
> I'll try to find the reference. It's been several months and I while I was
> intrigued, I wasn't listening well enough to remember the authors name.
>
> Forest
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Dan Leeson" <leeson0@-----.net>
> To: <klarinet@-----.org>
> Sent: Sunday, February 09, 2003 10:15 AM
> Subject: Re: [kl] Castelnuovo-Tedesco Question
>
>
>
>>Marlena wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Kk, I think u should go with what YOU want to do; play the C#s!
>>
> I
>
>>>mean, in general, if u play music as it is written, it almost makes u
>>>fall asleep. U have to put yourself into it, change tempo, dynamics,
>>>right? So I think this rule applies in this case.
>>>
>>
>>That one should do as one wishes and have a completely unfettered view
>>of how to perform is a point of view often expressed by young people who
>>want to feel no constraint working against what they see is their
>>artistic development. And that view has some merit because it tends to
>>encourage independent thinking. As a result of thinking independently,
>>the party, if intellectually honest, can go no where but to the place
>>against which they are arguing so emotionally. So such eventually people
>>wind up doing the very thing that they rebelled against.
>>
>>Several years ago, a young woman on this list stated explicitly that she
>>was a modern person, unchained from all ideas of the past, and she
>>intended to perform K. 622 in whatever way struck her fancy. I wonder
>>what happened to her and if she has now become a flaming conservative.
>>
>>I see Marlena a few years from now telling her children and eventually
>>her grandchildren that the traditional way is the only way. I do hope
>>that her written skills get better, though. It is not easy to read what
>>she writes. Punctuation Marlena, punctuation!!
>>--
>>***************************
>>**Dan Leeson **
>>**leeson0@-----.net **
>>***************************
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>
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--
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**Dan Leeson **
**leeson0@-----.net **
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