In the Dark on the Sunny Side – A Memoir of an Out–of–Sight Mathematician

A memoir that describes the groundbreaking life and career of blind mathematician Larry Baggett, interspersed with musings on mathematics.

Larry W. Baggett (Author)

9780883855812

Hardback, published 30 December 2012

190 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 1.8 cm, 0.418 kg

'… this book testifies that, even 'in the dark' it is possible by using one's creativity and perseverance to achieve remarkable things in life.' The European Mathematical Society (euro-math-soc.eu)

Misfortune struck one June day in 1944, when a five-year-old boy was blinded following an accident with a paring knife. That boy, Larry W. Baggett, grew up to become an internationally renowned research mathematician and a successful university professor. At every stage in his life, Baggett broke new ground: he was the first blind student enrolled in the Orlando public school system, the first blind student admitted to Davidson College, and the first blind doctoral student in mathematics at the University of Washington. This memoir describes his successes and failures as a blind person living and learning in the sighted world. In addition, he reflects on his two great passions in life – mathematics and music – with short musings on both topics, such as discussing how to figure out how many dominoes are in a set, the intricacies of jazz chord progressions, and the mysterious Comma of Pythagoras.

Prologue
1. Uncle Al's truss
2. A quantum moment
3. Louis and the problem of sixty-three
4. A cane mutiny
5. Pinocchio becomes a real boy
6. Aunt Mildred and the circle of fifths
7. Scarlet ribbons
8. Dauntless courage
9. The age of enlightenment
10. Baggett v. Bullitt, and all that jazz
11. Publish or perish, my best work
12. The renaissance
13. 'So how'd that all work out for you?'
Epilogue.

Subject Areas: Miscellaneous items [WZ]