Prof. David Mumford and the Wolf Prize

Prof. David Mumford of Brown university --- the recipient of this year's prize for mathematics by the Wolf foundation in Israel --- decided to donate the prize money to Palestinian academia to "enable the academic community in occupied Palestine to survive and thrive".

It's not the lack of funds that's keeping Palestinian academia from thriving. Rather, it is that Chemistry labs in Palestinian universities are used to teach bomb manufacturing techniques and that those Palestinian scientists who attempt to collaborate with Israelis risk their reputation and their lives.

Prof. Mumford mis-used a celebration of scientific achievement to shout out his political agenda, not to help the Palestinian people, or else he would have donated the money to a UN relief organization.

Cambridge Geese

We ran into these family of geese on a recent bike tour in Cambridge taking a leisurely Saturday stroll near the museum of science. Can you imagine anyone eating foigras after such a domestic scene?