Circle and Square

Harsh Pittie, in memoriam

epsilon — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:18:53 +0000

My friend Harsh V. Pittie, passed away suddenly on Monday, January 16, 2012.

Harsh was born January 3, 1944, educated during long walks with his father, later at George School, Swarthmore, and Princeton, where he received his Ph.D in mathematics. He held a professorship at the University of Georgia, which he later renounced in order to care for his father in Mumbai during the last years of his life. After his father’s death, he moved to New York City. He loved to go to the ballet, to work crossword puzzles, and of course, to do mathematics. Harsh is survived by his sister, Nirja Kamani, and her two daughters, Anandita and Janhavi, all of Mumbai, India.

Harsh’s friends remember him for his humor, quick wit and brilliant intelligence. We regret his passing.

Intrusion into Harmony, 8

epsilon — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 02:06:51 +0000

Intrusion into Harmony, 8

Also made with Processing.

Art

Intrusion into Harmony, 7

epsilon — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 03:56:00 +0000

Intrusion into Harmony, 7

This is an image created with the Processing language. Part of a plan too secret to divulge in these pages! Heh, heh, heh!!

In case you were wondering: Intrusion into Harmony 1 through 6 do not exist. The number seven just had a nice sound to it.

Art

Thoughts by the other Steve on solitude and creativity

epsilon — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 23:19:20 +0000

The Rise of the New Groupthink, by Susan Cain

Any denizen of the worlds of academia, education, or management will recognize the words quoted below from Susan Cain’s article:

SOLITUDE is out of fashion. Our companies, our schools and our culture are in thrall to an idea I call the New Groupthink, which holds that creativity and achievement come from an oddly gregarious place. Most of us now work in teams, in offices without walls, for managers who prize people skills above all. Lone geniuses are out. Collaboration is in.

As for me, I will take the advice of Steve Wozniak, aka “the other Steve:”

“Most inventors and engineers I’ve met are like me … they live in their heads. They’re almost like artists. In fact, the very best of them are artists. And artists work best alone …. I’m going to give you some advice that might be hard to take. That advice is: Work alone… Not on a committee. Not on a team.”

— Steve Wozniak

Further quotes:

Without great solitude, no serious work is possible.

– Pablo Picasso

Op 1, N. 18 (Cello)

epsilon — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 21:16:02 +0000

Op 1, N. 18: Song

(Click on image for full score)

Music | Cello

Work station

epsilon — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 10:39:55 +0000

Work station

Rajasthan, December 2007

Afternoon

epsilon — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 15:29:09 +0000

Afternoon

Mumbai, December 2007

Dusk

epsilon — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 11:48:59 +0000

Dusk

Mumbai, December 10, 2007
ISO 200, 65 mm, f 9.0, 1/200 sec
Canon EOS 40D

Afternoon walk

epsilon — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:40:10 +0000

Afternoon walk

Rajasthan
December 15, 2007, 3pm
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
ISO 500, 135 mm, f 7.1, 1/200 sec

December sun

epsilon — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:27:05 +0000

December sun

Leon, Mexico
December 2, 2011
Camera: iPhone 4S