Newsletter No. 388

No. 388, 4.12.2011 5 Precision in Diction The nineteenth-century American critic Ambrose Bierce has left an exquisite little book entitled Write It Right: A Little Blacklist of Literary Faults , which is still in print over 100 years after its first publication. The author’s aim is to teach precision in writing—‘Good writing is clear thinking made visible’ and his lexicographical purity and astuteness can be seen in the following examples. • unique Bierce insists on the uniqueness of this word, which takes no qualifier whatsoever. Therefore, he advises us to shun constructions such as ‘very unique’ or ‘the most unique’. www.iso.cuhk.edu.hk/english/features/style-speaks/index.html • climb down Bierce just says curtly: ‘In climbing one ascends.’ • honeymoon Bierce’s view on this: ‘Moon here means month, so it’s incorrect to say, “a week’s honeymoon,” or, “Their honeymoon lasted a year.’” But Bierce’s caution is still relevant today, as in the following examples: • née Bierce reminds us that ‘Mrs. Jones, née Lucy Smith’ is contrary to common sense as, in his words, ‘She could hardly have been christened at birth.’ The correct usage is ‘Mrs. Jones, née Smith’. • continually/continuously The fine difference between these two words is pointed out by Bierce: ‘What is done continually is not done all the time, but continuous action is without interruption. A loquacious fellow, who nevertheless finds time to eat and sleep, is continually talking; but a great river flows continuously.’ Editor SPACE / TIME Time, time why does it vanish? All manner of things what infinite variety. Three thousand rivers all from one source. Time, space mind, matter, reciprocal. Time, time it never returns. Space, space how much can it hold? In constant motion always in flux. Black holes lurking mysteries afoot. Space and time one without bounds. Infinite, infinite the secrets of the universe. Inexhaustible, lovely in every detail. Measure time, measure space no one can do it. Watched through a straw what’s to be learned has no end. BEIJING, 2002 A FLASH IN THE MIDDLE OF A LONG NIGHT Once I stood on the edge of a bridge, strolled along the lakeshore, striving to catch from afar a glimpse of your matchless beauty. Once I climbed atop a pavilion, seeking a road at land’s end, yearning for a vision of your fair, ineffable presence. Ten thousand yards of silk your lightness cannot contain. The moon hovers miles away, its shadow broad, expansive. The boundless sky, the neverending stream, waves breaking without surcease. All excite the unfathomable depth, of which we call eternity. The road is long, the view obscured, with thousands of threads entangled. Pursuing the truth, you toil endlessly. in dreams you’ve surely been there. Yet inspiration has struck, time and again, lifting us onto the shoulders of giants. From Euclid to Descartes, Newton to Gauss, and Riemann to Poincaré. O! The phantom of all things, So hard to divine in daylight’s glare. Then suddenly, when the radiance dims, she reveals a glimpse of her unseen form. A chance encounter, unrivalled splendor, from genius through the ages. Let us celebrate the poetry of the universe And the geometry through which it sings. CAMBRIDGE, 2006 丘成桐教授與中大結緣近 半世紀，1969年畢業於崇 基學院數學系，1980年獲中 大榮譽理學博士學位。1969 年，丘氏赴美國加州柏克 萊大學，師從名數學家陳省 身教授，兩年後取得博士學 位，曾任教於普林斯頓高等 研究院、史丹福大學、紐約 州立大學石溪分校及加州 大學聖迭哥分校。1987年任 哈佛大學講座教授迄今。 丘教授1993年返回母校，領導成立中大數學科學研究所，同時 擔任研究所所長，帶領研究工作，並定期教學及指導研究生。 丘教授在悠悠四十載鑽研數學的事業生涯中，曾獲無數獎譽， 他於1982年獲菲爾茲獎，其他獎譽包括維布倫幾何獎、麥克阿 瑟基金獎、克拉福德獎和美國國家科學獎，以及2010年的沃爾 夫數學獎。 丘教授現為中大博文講座教授、數學科學研究所所長，以及 哈佛大學William Casper Graustein講座教授。 Prof. Yau Shing-tung is a distinguished alumnus and dear friend of CUHK for about half a century. He graduated from the Department of Mathematics, Chung Chi College, CUHK in 1969, and was conferred the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa , by the University in 1980. He was admitted to the University of California, Berkeley in 1969, where he received his PhD degree two years later under the supervision of Prof. Chern Shiing-shen. He taught at the Institute for Advanced Study of Princeton, Stanford University, Stony Brook University, and University of California, San Diego. He has been a faculty member at Harvard since 1987. In 1993, Professor Yau joined his alma mater and initiated the establishment of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMS), where he served as director to lead researches, while at the same time contributed to teaching and coaching postgraduates. In his 40-year career in mathematics, he has received numerous awards and honours. These include the Fields Medal in 1982, the Veblen Prize in Geometry, the MacArthur Fellowship, the Crafoord Prize and the US National Medal of Science, and the 2010 Wolf Prize in Mathematics. Professor Yau is now a Distinguished Professor-at-Large and director of the IMS at CUHK, as well as William Casper Graustein Professor of Mathematics at Harvard University.