My dinner with Anil Gupta
Some weeks ago I got an email addressed to the Logic majors and minors (of which there are a total of maybe eight) inviting me to come along to a dinner with Anil Gupta, this year's Tom Tymozco logic lecturer. I was terribly excited: I felt so in. Acamedia said there would be a reception at 4:30, but I couldn't make it until about 5 because of my Amherst class. I crept into Dewey very quietly- it's a squeaky building that's very hard to sneak around in- and listened for a moment. And another moment. I didn't hear any students. Was this the right time? I peeked at a flier on the wall- yup, 4:30, reception. But where were the students? I couldn't go in there! So I sat down on a chair in the hallway to wait.
To my utter dismay, Jay Garfield came out of the room and saw me. "Hey," he said, surprised.
"Hi."
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing?"
"That's an odd place to sit."
I shrugged.
"Well, suit yourself."
I was mortified. I went outside and walked around and around Dewey a couple of times letting my face cool off. Then I went back in and sat down on my chair.
Presently, the people in the reception started getting up and putting on their coats. Jay saw me again and asked if I'd like to take the leftovers to share with my house. I decided there had been a misunderstanding- I must not have been invited after all. I said okay.
While Jay gathered up the snacks, I mustered up my courage and asked, "I'm a little confused- I thought- I mean, I got an invitation to come to- to have dinner, but then I wasn't sure if this was the place I was supposed to be, and I thought it was the wrong place-"
"No, it's the right place," said Jay. "As a Logic major you are entitled to things like this. Come on, I'll introduce you."
Back out in the hallway, Jay introduced me to the other logicians, including Anil Gupta. I smiled shyly, but inside I was in a panic. Where were the other logic majors? I couldn't be the only student!
But I was.
The dinner was very nice. I had a green salad and a curry which Jay said was Sri Lankan style. We ate at the Green Street cafe. I sat next to a linguist from Pomona who was very nice to me and made every effort to include me in the conversation. Everyone was very gracious to me. It was rather like having dinner with a lot of uncles I didn't know very well. I paid great attention to my table manners and smiled at mathematical jokes, some of which I got, some of which I didn't. Afterwards we walked over to the library for the lecture. Anil Gupta talked about the role of experience in knowledge. I am not sure I understood very much and I think I disagree with some of the parts I'm understanding now- I talked to Jill about it today, which was helpful- but I was struck by how much more I understood this year. It is one of my occasional daydreams that someday I will be the Tom Tymozco Logic lecturer, when I grow up. I'm feeling very drawn to Academia right now.
3 Comments:
He sounds like an interesting cat. Too bad the other majors didn't go to the reception, but good for you that you sucked it up and went-- opportunities like that are easy to miss, and that would have been a shame.
Are there other opportunities for the logic majors to socialize, or do you all labor in solitude?
And now that I've re-read your post, I see that Jay should have invited you in right off. Sometimes academics forget their party manners, and sometimes they are shy-- even of their students, in a social setting.
This guy? http://www.anilgupta.com/ Huh. Yes, I was also surprised that your Prof left you in the hall without inviting you in and then offered to let you have scraps. You have to grab a piece of stage kiddo because most academics are grown up shy and forgetful undergraduates.
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