My name is Dan Strelnick. I’m 29 years old and was born in
Madison. I was a math/physics double
major at Beloit College. My final year I
got to study in the Budapest Semester in Mathematics program in Hungary. I’ve loved math since I was little and am
still in awe at its combination of rigor and beauty.
Because of those two things I
wanted to continue to grad school but I eventually decided against it. I wanted to do something that directly helped
people and doing theoretical mathematics started seeming like a game. The
desire to help people led me to teaching.
I taught full-time for one year
until my emergency license wore out. Since then I have worked as a paraprofessional
for MPS. I have gotten to work with some
amazing teachers and I know that I’ve learned a lot just by watching them. I think that is the fastest way to learn, to
watch the best. You pick up the intangible things they do. I like teaching very much, it is a lot like a
performance. I like showing students the
beauty of math, I like making fun of students, and I like teaching students to
think, which to me, is the essence of math.
My blog will be about a famous Mathematician
named John Nash. He is a Nobel Laureate
and famous for his contributions to Game Theory. His ideas have been used in economics,
political science, the military, and any type of negotiations. He has also had a movie made about him, “A Beautiful Mind”. I’m going to talk about his life, his
contributions to mathematics, and the mental illness he eventually developed.
I chose Nash because he has a very
interesting story. I really enjoy his
field, game theory. I am also interested
in looking at the mental illness aspect of his life, as this seems to be a
theme among some of the most brilliant people.
