August 18, 2014
Reminiscences about I. M. Gel'fand on the 100th anniversary of his birth, and about mathematical life in Moscow in the former Soviet Union.
June 17, 2005
Public lecture given at The Fields Institute, June 2, 2005.
May 29, 2007
A few remarks on how mathematics quests for freedom.
August 8, 2013
This is a brief account of the legacy of Ken Wilson in statistical physics, high energy physics, computing and education.
November 30, 2016
On the occasion of Alan Dow 60th birthday.
January 1, 2002
Talk at the International Conference ``G\'eom\'etrie au vingti\`eme ci\`ecle: 1930--2000'', Paris, Institut Henri Poincar\'e, Sept. 2001. The title is a homage to Hans Rademacher and Otto Toeplitz whose book fascinated the author many years ago.
October 1, 2002
We discuss the scientific contributions of Edsger Wybe Dijkstra, his opinions and his legacy.
September 12, 2013
The classical platonist/formalist dilemma in philosophy of mathematics can be expressed in lay terms as a deceptively naive question: is new mathematics discovered or invented? Using an example from my own mathematical life, I argue that there is also a third way: new mathematics can also be inherited -- and in the process briefly discuss a remarkable paper by W. Burnside of 1900.
June 1, 2013
Obituary of Graham Everest (1957-2010)
October 29, 2001
This paper has been withdrawn by the author.