Author Archives

I am entering my 21st year as a math teacher at Weston High School, the sole public high school in Weston, MA. It’s also my 44th year as a teacher altogether. In addition to my day job, I taught for 20 years at the Saturday Course in Milton, MA. I also teach at Harvard’s Crimson Summer Academy each summer; 2017 was our 14th consecutive summer.

Sometimes I work on educational software. I also read, cook, and continue building my model railroad whenever I can. For some reason I'm left with less so-called free time than would be ideal. Nevertheless, I manage to devote time to my wife, Barbara, and to our excessive number of cats as well.

• Greek! (The Ingenious Language)

  By ljd42 on September 14, 2020

  

  Where do I begin when I try to describe this marvelous book? If you look at the cover (see image at the bottom of this post), you’ll see that the full title of this book is The Ingenious Language: Nine Epic… Read More ›

• Semper Augustus, a short novel

  By ljd42 on September 12, 2020

  

  A short novel? Maybe it’s a long novella. In any case, it’s well worth reading. This dystopian work by the well-known science fiction author Nancy Kress is set in the near future, and I do mean “near.” The wealth gap… Read More ›

• A math problem for the season

  By ljd42 on September 11, 2020

  

  From this week’s issue of The New Yorker:  

• Pawliamentary immunity

  By ljd42 on September 10, 2020

  

  Yay! News out of Israel that’s about cooperation, not conflict. According to YNet, Israel’s major English-language news source, the 30 stray cats who hang out in the backyard of the Knesset have started entering the building, with the response that…… Read More ›

• Can’t have too much Tavolo!

  By ljd42 on September 9, 2020

  

  Excellent dinner on the patio at Tavolo last night, all supported by server extraordinaire Michaela Collins. Barbara started with an enormous Chef’s Burrata (burrata, mixed greens, candied walnuts, gala apples, vincotto, evoo) accompanied by a Summer Lemonade cocktail (it is… Read More ›

• Popularizers III: George Gamow

  By ljd42 on September 8, 2020

  

  What? Why was I reading without my eyeglasses? That’s easy. This photo, my semi-official portrait at age 11, was taken just before I got glasses. And that was all because of a substitute teacher! My regular teacher always had always… Read More ›

• A Cat

  By ljd42 on September 6, 2020

  

  Why had I never heard of this book before? Well, at least I’m not alone. A Cat is a little-known 1995 work written by Leonard Michaels and illustrated by Frances Lerner. I read the 2018 Tin House hardcover version, which I… Read More ›

• Hebrew Script Hacking

  By ljd42 on September 4, 2020

  

  How is this book different from all other books in the series? I’m referring to Teach Yourself Library’s Script Hacking series, which teaches you several alphabetical writing systems — a limited objective, and the series does a good job with it. Little… Read More ›

• Is this box small enough for you?

  By ljd42 on September 2, 2020

  

  William says “Where I fits, I sits.” But does he fit?

• Facts, truth, math, and Donald Trump

  By ljd42 on September 1, 2020

  

  Given Donald Trump’s uneasy relationship with facts (and a few other flaws), we all wonder how he has managed to maintain rock-steady approval from about 40% of Americans for the past four years. I was unwillingly forced to think about… Read More ›