The Mathematics Conference Experience

Here in Auckland, New Zealand, math conferences provide social gatherings for a cherished circle of personalities while embraced by numerical finesse. Unlike conventional predisposition, while bunched up in a room, mathematicians unleash amazingly fiery passion and unconcealed exhilaration. Just like any other college party.

At the Department of Mathematics of Auckland University of Technology, Peter Watson and Jiling Cao (Ph.D) had organized the event this week. While the witty, sometimes bold Dr. Cao has usually developed a first-name-basis with the guests from America or Europe (curiously everybody in New Zealand seems to communicate via a first-name-basis), the administrator of the department Peter Watson, a remarkably heartening and articulate man, helped with the logistics.

The speaker came from Louisiana, Batton Rouge; a Boyd Professor of Mathematics named Jimmie Lawson (Ph.D). The topic involved redefining classical geometric means generalized to a case of positive definite matrices, and associated properties. Fellow professors, scholars, and Ph.D-Supervisors had joined for this event with subtle enthusiasm and anticipations of wonderful conversations to ensue. A few of them looked to have enough years under the belt for the role of grandparents.

Soft spoken yet very much vivacious, Dr. Lawson´s talk presented concise concepts and a few interesting perspectives. Iterations, vector subspaces, matrices operations, the hour had passed swiftly. All of sudden, the room filled up with chatters and smiles, a laughter or two erupted every now and then. Old or young, man or woman, everyone spoke delightfully, and with open mind they welcomed each others´ reflections and expanded thoughts. Intellect, progress, and bliss; it felt good to be a mathematician.

Dr. Cao has another conference planned for the following week, this time with food and even wine. Many have come to treasure this little numerical haven in this corner of the world. Great minds. Great treats. Great life.