... reductio ad absurdum ... is one of a mathematician's finest weapons. It is a far finer gambit than any chess gambit: a chess player may offer the sacrifice of a pawn or even a piece, but the mathematician offers the game. — Godfrey H. Hardy (1877 - 1947)

Although I'm now retired, some students and former students may still find some of the information I posted while I was still an active faculty member to be useful. Some of the information and links are outdated and I plan on updated them as time permits. Ironically, I often feel I have much less free time in retirement than I used to have.

After my retirement, my wife and I made two moves. We now winter in Netanya, where I am able to enjoy my breakfast in our small apartment there looking out over the Mediterranean, and summer in Massachusetts, where our home is much larger but the view doesn't compare.

I also spend more time confronting the rampant misinformation and distortions spread about the Arab-Israeli conflict than I spend with mathematics and founded two new organizations, PRIMER-Massachusetts and PRIMER-Israel, while remaining active as president emeritus of PRIMER-Connecticut. (PRIMER is an acronym for Promoting Responsibility In Middle East Reporting.)

I remain available for workshops on letter writing and for speaking on various aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict. My favorite topic is "Inconvenient Truths the Anti-Israel Activists Don't Want You to Know." The notes from one version of that talk are available at primerct.blogspot.com/2017/03/getting-across-truths-anti-zionists.html and an abbreviated list of inconvenient truths may be found at primerct.blogspot.com/2017/03/list-of-inconvenient-truths-anti.html.

If you're interested in having me speak, send me an email.

Shortly after I retired, before I got too busy to get tied down teaching courses, I led some non-mathematical courses on the Arab-Israeli conflict for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the Waterbury Campus.

The courses were The Arab-Israeli Conflict: Cutting Through the Myths & Misinformation and The Arab-Israeli Conflict Part II: Cutting Through the Myths & Misinformation and Negotiating a Solution.

The description of the first course was:
The Arab-Israeli conflict has for more than six decades been given an enormous amount of attention by the world and attracts a disproportionate amount of coverage in the media. Much of the dialog is driven by a lack of understanding of basic issues and misleading terminology. The course will review the history, missed opportunities and commonly held myths, including false information propagated by figures as prominent as a former president of the United States. We will examine the current situation and discuss remedies which might eventually lead to a resolution of the conflict.
The description for the second course was:
For more than six decades, the Arab-Israeli conflict has been given an enormous amount of attention by the world and attracts a disproportionate amount of coverage in the media. Much of the dialog is driven by a lack of understanding of basic issues and misleading terminology. We will examine commonly-held myths, including false information propagated by figures as prominent as a former president of the U.S., and negotiating teams will attempt to come up with a reasonable agreement ending the Palestinian Arab-Israeli portion of the conflict.
General Policies — These are policies which applied to students in all my classes. Students were expected to be familiar with these policies.
Academic Integrity
A fundamental tenet of all educational institutions is academic honesty; academic work depends upon respect for and acknowledgement of the research and ideas of others. Misrepresenting someone else's work as one's own is a serious offense in any academic setting and it will not be condoned.

Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to, providing or receiving assistance in a manner not authorized by the instructor in the creation of work to be submitted for academic evaluation (e.g. papers, projects, and examinations); any attempt to influence improperly (e.g. bribery, threats) any member of the faculty, staff, or administration of the University in any matter pertaining to academics or research; presenting, as one's own, the ideas or words of another for academic evaluation; doing unauthorized academic work for which another person will receive credit or be evaluated; and presenting the same or substantially the same papers or projects in two or more courses without the explicit permission of the instructors involved.

A student who knowingly assists another student in committing an act of academic misconduct shall be equally accountable for the violation, and shall be subject to the sanctions and other remedies described in The Student Code.
The Wonderful World of Binomial Coefficients and Probability
Slides from a presentation given February 1, 2006
Notes for Students — A growing collection of notes to help students with specific topics.
Obvious But Underappreciated Truths — A collection of observations relating primarily to exams, quizzes, problem sets and other assignments which are generally obvious to most but often underappreciated.
Frequently Asked Questions — A collection of questions frequently asked by students along with the standard answer I usually give.
Ready to Learn: What Makes a Great Student — The chair of the Journalism Department at Southern Connecticut State University gives his answer to the question "What attributes would we use to describe the ideal student?"
Course Feedback and Suggestion Box — I'm always interested in learning what I can do to improve my courses and make them more interesting. If you have any comments you feel may help, or any suggestions, please fill out this form, which may be done anonymously if you prefer.
Mailing List Removal — Instructions for removing yourself from a course mailing list after the end of the semester.
Information for Advisees — Advisees should check here for information about coming in for registration assistance.
CLAS 2007-2008 Student Workbook — Prepared by the CLAS Academic Services Center
Waterbury Campus Academic Advising Information

The following items are of interest for all students taking or planning to take mathematics courses:

  • The Math Resource Center — Offering assistance to students in Mathematics 1011, 1030, 1060, 1131 and 1132.
  • Tri-Campus Writing Center – The Writing Center can be surprisingly useful to students in mathematics classes.
  • Mathematics Course Guide — Including descriptions of the mathematics courses offered at the Waterbury Campus of the University along with advice about which courses are appropriate for which students. A must read for students who are unsure about which courses to take.
  • UConn Online Course Placement — The University of Connecticut has eliminated its previous system of placement examinations. This web site provides guidance for both incoming and continuing students.

    • Other Information Regarding Courses I've Taught Recently

    New Numbering System
    The Old Number is Included in Parentheses

    Mathematics 1050 (108) Mathematical Modeling in the Environment
    Mathematics 1070 (105) Mathematics for Business and Economics
    Mathematics 1071 (106) Calculus for Business and Economics
    Mathematics 1132 (116) Calculus II
    Mathematics 2110 (210) Multivariable Calculus

    Old Numbering System

    Mathematics 101 Basic Algebra with Applications
    Mathematics 102 Problem Solving
    Mathematics 103 Elementary Discrete Mathematics
    Mathematics 105 Mathematics for Business and Economics
    Mathematics 106 Calculus for Business and Economics
    Mathematics 107 Elementary Mathematical Modeling
    Mathematics 108 Mathematical Modeling in the Environment
    Mathematics 109 Algebra and Trigonometry
    Mathematics 115 Calculus I
    Mathematics 116 Calculus II
    Mathematics 210 Multivariable Calculus
    Mathematics 211 Elementary Differential Equations
    Mathematics 216 Abstract Algebra
    Mathematics 227 Applied Linear Algebra
    Statistics 110 Elementary Concepts of Statistics

    The information on the above courses is based on the last time I taught each of them but students may find it helpful in terms of getting an idea of what is involved in each course. Other information about most mathematics courses, including syllabi used by other instructors, is available at the Mathematics Department Home Page.

    Students planning their schedules will also find the UCONN/WATERBURY MATHEMATICS COURSE GUIDE invaluable as a way to learn about the different mathematics courses offered at the Waterbury Campus.

    Students who are unable to complete their assignments on time might wish to compare their reasons with the Top Ten Excuses for Not Doing Math Homework.

    Other Resources for Students

    These web sites have been recommended by various students as offering help in mathematics. The inclusion of any site does not imply any endorsement and many of them are flawed, but some students may find some of them useful.
    Algebra.help
    This site bills itself as "a collection of tools created to assist students and teachers of algebra."