Author Archives
In 2018 I semi-retired by retiring from Weston High School after my 21st year teaching mathematics there. This was also my 44th year as a teacher altogether. In 2023 I retired fully, adding in my 18 years at Harvard’s Crimson Summer Academy each summer. For 21 years I had taught at the Saturday Course in Milton, MA, and I used to serve on the board of the Dorchester Historical Society.
I read, cook, and spend a lot of time building my model railroad. For some reason I’m left with less free time than would be ideal, considering that I’m supposed to be retired, but somehow I also manage to devote time to my wife, Barbara, and to our varying number of cats (once up to six, but now sadly down to one).
Larry Davidson
ljd@larrydavidson.com
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A comfortable pillow?
Vincent is ignoring William, who thinks that he’s resting his head on a comfortable pillow:
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Ashmont Grill has reopened!
The Ashmont Grill has reopened! Barbara and I ate dinner last night on the spacious and beautiful back patio. Barbara had their special New England Lobster Dinner (steamers, lobster, chorizo, corn on the cob, potatoes), with Nanny Sheila’s renowned carrot… Read More ›
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Your last name is always your last name, right?
“Of course my last name comes last,” you reply! “That’s why it’s called my last name!” Well, no. Your surname is not always your “last” name. And I’m not talking about the “Doe, Jane” construction used in bibliographies and official class lists… Read More ›
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The Just City: science fiction and Plato
I am overwhelmed! By unanimous consent, Jo Walton’s The Just City has now been added to my top-ten books list (which already had 12 books on it). There was no doubt about it. In a sense, this book is science fiction…. Read More ›
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English history, fractals, and Donald Trump
The Fractal Geometry of Nature may be Benoit Mandelbrot’s most famous book, but have you ever heard of the fractal geometry of history? I hadn’t either — until I watched the six-minute video “The Abandoned Hill with Two Members of… Read More ›
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“How to Read 50 Books in a Year (Even When You’re Busy)”
As we discussed a few days ago, a Pew poll showed that Americans don’t read very much. More specifically, it’s non-college-educated adults don’t read many books, but also reading in general is way down — reading of almost all types… Read More ›
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What’s up with Hispanic surnames?
Over the years I have taught many students with Spanish-language surnames, and I’m never sure how to alphabetize them, since it seems that there are multiple systems of doing so. It turns out that it not only seems that there are multiple… Read More ›
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Irregardless of what you may think, “irregardless” is a word.
OK, so I slightly modified the headline on an NPR article from last week. Go read this short article to find out what I did, and to learn something. I will wait. … The problem is that the world is… Read More ›
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How many books have you read this year?
According to Pew, the average adult reads — wait! median adult or mean adult?— OK, the median adult reads 12 books per year, whereas the mean is only 4. Ponder that discrepancy for a minute! We all know — though… Read More ›
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Performances? Performances!
A published book is a performance. A translation is a performance. Actually, I never used to think of either of them that way, but John Talbot and James Harbeck have convinced me. In JT’s case it was an oral conversation… Read More ›
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Think of the veterans. And think of the cats… and dogs.
Think of the veterans who are your neighbors. Think of the cats and dogs who are your pets and your neighbors’ pets. They are assailed by endless illegal fireworks every night. Fireworks can trigger PTSD in veterans, and they can… Read More ›
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Justice Alito has strong views about pronouns (and gender).
Justice Samuel Alito warns that Bostock not only opens up bathrooms and locker rooms to sexual predators, it runs afoul of the First Amendment by forcing people to use gender pronouns against their will. … Alito implies that somehow this deluge… Read More ›
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Tavolo is back!
It was so nice to be able to see our friends at Tavolo last night for the first time dining there (not just takeout!) since the pandemic began. We’re talking safe dining on the improvised outdoor patio on Dot Ave,… Read More ›
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Zoom vs. MCET: compare and contrast.
Everyone knows Zoom (the teleconferencing platform, that is, not the old PBS kids’ show). Everyone knows Zoom. Now, raise your hand if you know MCET. I thought so: everyone knows Zoom, but very few know MCET, which provided my first… Read More ›
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It can’t happen here.
In 1964, when Barry Goldwater was running for president, Sinclair Lewis’s 1935 novel It Can’t Happen Here came to my attention, so I promptly checked a copy out of the library and read it right away. In case you’ve never heard of… Read More ›
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I survived my first week of Zoom-based teaching.
Today, on July 3, I am telling you that I survived my first week. Not my first week of teaching, of course: what I survived was my first week of teaching with Zoom — although sometimes it did feel like… Read More ›
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On the other hand… Gödel (but not Escher or Bach)
In my previous blog post, I wrote about — and included a cartoon about — one aspect of math teaching. The cartoon asserted that “no one can impart perfect universal truths to their students,” with the punch line “…except math… Read More ›
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Sanity through math
Why is Jonathan Halabi called “Mr. D.”? I mean, it’s an excellent way to refer to a math teacher — isn’t it? — but I’m puzzled by “D” as the abbreviation for Halibi. Oh well, who am I to object?… Read More ›
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Is this an offensive slur?
QOTD: Is it OK for a young Jewish woman to call another young Jewish woman a JAP, or is it an offensive slur? Here’s the three-part context behind that question: A friend (Jewish and female) replied to my post about… Read More ›
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Finally venturing out to a restaurant (outdoors, of course)
Yesterday evening was the first time since the shutdown began that we actually went out to a restaurant to dine, instead of getting takeout or delivery! Strictly outdoors, of course, at dbar on the patio. All in all, it was an… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 