Created Sunday 01 February 2026
Imagine you are in a museum, but instead of art pieces there are math formulas. As your guide, I lead to you to an exhibit. It looks like a bunch scribbles, but my eyes light up as I am talking about it:
"This piece has become a cornerstone of a couple of new directions in math. It talks about a moment when you set a long goal - like going to the Moon or winning in a game of chess. It is born from the struggle of making a plan while facing an uncertainty - the uncertainty of the future and of the world around you. And it talks about how you create a set of values for yourself to guide you through that uncertainty. You are looking for values with integrity, you are looking for values that respect your goals and you are looking for the values that respect the physical reality – and in this piece's world the "true" values come naturally to you as you work through the details of your situation.
I find this piece's message extremely hopeful. Unfortunately, math is only a reflection of reality, and people often take it way too literally..." – I lead on as we are moving to the next exhibit.