R.I.P. Alexander Grothendieck

The great mathematician Alexander Grothendieck died a few days ago. He was 86 years old.

Alexander Grothendieck ( ... 28 March 1928 – 13 November 2014) was a German-born French mathematician, and the leading figure in creating modern algebraic geometry. His research program vastly extended the scope of the field, incorporating major elements of commutative algebra, homological algebra, sheaf theory, and category theory into its foundations. This new perspective led to revolutionary advances across many areas of pure mathematics.

Why I like some dictionaries more than others

I am the proud owner of what will probably be the last print edition of the granddaddy of all English dictionaries, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). Among its other virtues, when describing etymology it does not transliterate Greek words. It prints them using the Greek alphabet. The same is true of Cassell's Latin dictionary and the monumental Oxford Latin Dictionary.

Transliteration made some sense in the era of typewriters and hot-metal typesetting, but those technological dinosaurs are nearly extinct. Almost all printing is now done by computer. Since Greek fonts are widely available, there is no excuse for new dictionaries not to print Greek words in the Greek alphabet.

Many dictionaries now in print are photographic reproductions of older editions, so transliteration can not be replaced by Greek text.

Last time I checked the online OED it had not evolved much from the print edition. The Greek alphabet was used where appropriate, but unfortunately no Greek font was used. Instead, each Greek letter was a Graphics box, which means that those of us with bad eyesight could not zoom in on Greek words the way we could on English words.

Another criterion for dictionaries is the way they describe pronunciation. The gold standard for pronunciation is the alphabet of the International Phonetic Association (IPA). The best dictionaries (e.g., the OED) use the IPA alphabet, at least as a starting point.

Pronunciation of articles in English

Everyone knows that the pronunciation of the indefinite article depends on whether the following word begins with a vowel or a consonant. The spelling reflects the pronunciation. Thus we say "a dog" and "an owl". (There are borderline cases: some say "a historical drama"; others say "an historical drama".)

Did you know that the pronunciation of the definite article also depends on whether the following word begins with a vowel or a consonant? The spelling is always "the", but "the" usually rhymes with "knee" in front of a vowel, and usually rhymes with "uh" in front of a consonant. (There are exceptions; can you find them?)

Today is the anniversary of two important events.

1. November 9, 1938 was Kristallnacht (the night of broken glass) in Germany and Austria. Jews were attacked by Nazi storm troopers and civilians. Jewish shops had their windows broken (hence the name). Synagogues were damaged or destroyed. About 100 Jews were murdered, and tens of thousands were sent to concentration camps.

Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristallnacht

2. November 9, 1989 was Mauerfall (the fall of the Berlin Wall).

"the East German government announced on 9 November 1989 that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin. Crowds of East Germans crossed and climbed onto the wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a celebratory atmosphere."

Jury Duty in America

The dreaded letter arrives, informing you that you have been randomly selected for jury duty. You must go to a courthouse up to 20 miles away and report to the jury assembly room. There you will be subjected to pep talks from various bureaucrats, usually including a judge (or a video of a judge). If selected for a jury panel, you and other potential jurors will be herded into a courtroom. You will be told the nature of the case to be tried. Most likely it will be a criminal case (as opposed to a lawsuit). You will be asked questions by lawyers on both sides - the prosecution and the defense. You may also be questioned by the judge. If you show an obvious bias toward one side or the other, you will be excluded from the jury "for cause". Otherwise you may be excluded by what is called a "peremptory challenge" by one side or the other. Each side is allowed a certain number of peremptory challenges, which means they may exclude you from the jury without saying why.

Peremptory challenges are controversial. Many experts have questioned whether they serve any useful purpose, other than to support an industry of jury consultants, who advise the lawyers about whether a particular juror is likely to vote guilty or not guilty. Defense lawyers have been known to brag about how they managed to pick stupid jurors to get their clients off.

You'd think jury selection would be simple and fast, but sometimes it takes longer to select the jury than it does to try the case. That's mainly because of peremptory challenges. It's also because of peremptory challenges that so many people get called for jury duty, and so few are selected for an actual jury. Jurors are paid so little that the courts have no incentive to use their time efficiently.

Things are different in England, where peremptory challenges have been abolished. In England, jury selection is a breeze, and there is no jury selection industry.

Which do you think is better, the English or the American way of picking juries?