Maths and music

Since February I have borrowed some very interesting books. I skimmed through The sense of being stared at and other aspects of the extended mind by Rupert Sheldrake. He had some good ideas and has shown how he did research. Basically he writes about the seventh sense and how your mind goes out to the subject you stare at or focus on, ie. if you stare long enough at a person's back they will eventually turn around.

Another non-fiction book I skimmed through was Fermat's last theorem by Amird Aczel. I borrowed this book mainly because I was looking for books about music and maths. It didn't mention music but I got sidetracked trying to work out the theorem. After spending most of the weekend being puzzled, I could not solve the puzzle. My calculator could not give me enough decimal places and there were not enough hours on Sunday for me to work it out on my computer. Should have read all the book because I would have discovered that Fermat's last theorem could not be solved.

The strange thing about reading habits is once you get hooked on a topic you start finding other books to read on the same topic.

I have really enjoyed reading Orpheus lost by Janette Turner Hospital. It is a book about Leela who is a mathematician with an interest in maths and music who falls in love with an Australian musician who is living two lives. Secretly Leela is being watched by Cobb a childhood friend. Cobb is obsessed by Leela and has spies watching her every move. The photographs taken of Leela reveal Leela's lover and his secret life. Mishka disappears. But Leela can not rest until she finds him. At the beginning of this novel Fermat's Last Theorem was mentioned and there were a few more references to Fermat a great mathematician towards the end of the novel.

How strange that I had decided to read to read this book at the same time that I had been trying to solve the puzzle of Fermat's last theorem.