TITLE: ... But You Doesn't Have to Call Me Lefschetz
AUTHOR: Eugene Wallingford
DATE: January 06, 2006  4:02 PM
DESC: 
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BODY:
In the last two days, I have run across references
to John von Neumann twice.

First, I was reading
<A HREF="http://geomblog.blogspot.com/2006/01/most-dangerous-question.html">
   The Geomblog</A>
yesterday and found this:

<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
It reminds me of a quote attributed to John von Neumann:
<BR/><BR/>
In mathematics you don't understand things.
You just get used to them.
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>

I've had that feeling in computer science...  A few
months ago I described
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2005-08.html#e2005-08-22T19_55_10.htm">
   something similar</A>,
but in that case I did come to understand the course
material; it only seemed as if I never world.  My
"just get used to it" experiences came in an area
right up Suresh's alley: Computational Complexity.
I <EM>loved</EM> that class, but I always felt like
I was swimming in the dark -- even as I did well
enough in the course.

Then today I was cleaning out a folder of miscellaneous
notes and found a clipping from some long-forgotten
article.

<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
In Princeton's Fine Hall, someone once posted a
"Scale of Obviousness":
<UL>
<P>
<LI> If Wedderburn says it's obvious, everybody in the
     room has seen it ten minutes ago.
<P>
<LI> If Bohnenblust says it's obvious, it's obvious.
<P>
<LI> If If Bochner says it's obvious, you can figure it
     out in half an hour.
<P>
<LI> If von Neumann says it's obvious, you can prove it
     in three months if you are a genius.
<P>
<LI> If Lefschetz says it's obvious, it's wrong.
</UL>
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'll venture to say that students at every institution
occasionally make such lists and discuss them with
their friends, even if they are too polite to post
them in public.  That's good for the egos of us faculty
members.  In our fantasies, we are all von Neumanns.
In reality, most of us are Bohnenblusts at best and
more likely Wedderburns.  And we all have our Lefschetz
days.
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