I confess. I'm a bit of a math geek. There's an beauty in mathematics that appeals to my sense of order and completeness. My brother-in-law calls me "Rain Man" because I do numbers in my head. Catherine loves taking me to the grocery store with her because I do unit pricing in my head. Her birthday gift to me was a Russian (Soviet era) backgammon set - because I love woodworking and because backgammon is all about numbers.


The Russian backgammon set. She
purchased it from a retired State
Department official who purchased it
in Russia in the late 50's. I love the inlaid wood.

When we travel, I play math games with the numbers on license plates. I remember phone numbers by reference to prime numbers - at least its useful sometimes. Which brings me to breaking news: I was excited hear that UCLA mathematicians have used a computer to find the largest prime number yet discovered.

Suddenly, the world seems more orderly. Unconquered problems are not unresolvable. I'm feeling a lot more optimistic.

What about you? Do you have an idiosyncrasy known only to you and few of your closest friends?