Differential Equations of My Young Years

Vladimir Maz'ya e Arkady Alexeev

Birkhäuser | 2014 | 204 páginas | rar - pdf | 7,7 Mb

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Vladimir Maz'ya (born 1937) is an outstanding mathematician who systematically made fundamental contributions to a wide array of areas in mathematical analysis and in the theory of partial differential equations. In this fascinating book he describes the first thirty years of his life. He starts with the story of his family, speaks about his childhood, high school and university years, describe his formative years as a mathematician. Behind the author's personal recollections, with his own joys, sorrows and hopes, one sees a vivid picture of the time. He speaks warmly about his friends, both outside and inside mathematics. The author describes the awakening of his passion for mathematics and his early achievements. He mentions a number of mathematicians who influenced his professional life. The book is written in a readable and inviting way sometimes with a touch of humor. It can be of interest for a very broad readership.

Contents
1. Family and Early Childhood .. 1
1.1 The Beginning . . 1
1.2 The Time of Peace Is Over . . 5
1.3 My Mother’s Story . . 6
1.4 My Father’s Story .. 10
1.5 In Sverdlovsk . .. 15
1.6 Back to Leningrad .  20
1.7 Postage Stamps .. 21
1.8 Crime Without Punishment . 23
1.9 From the Kiosk to House No. 19/18  . 23
1.10 Life in the “Small Room” on Marat Street . . 26
1.11 Aunt Rita and Lusya .. 30
1.12 Lusya, Ella and the Sinclairs  . 31
1.13 Uncle Aron, Bathhouse and Chess  . 32
1.14 Mother and My First Library . 33
1.15 Durian  . 35
1.16 Our Room . . 35
1.17 The Kitchen and the Toilet . . 39
1.18 Life Has Become Better . . 40
1.19 Even the Sun Has Spots .. 42
2 Boyhood . . 45
2.1 It Is So Difficult to Become an “A” Student . . 45
2.2 The Importance of Being an “A” Student . . 50
2.3 Slingshots  . 52
2.4 Illnesses . . 53
2.5 “Physcult” and Sports . 56
2.6 To Me the Most Important Art Was the Movies  . 59
2.7 A Sharp Kid . . 59
2.8 Foreign Languages  . 63
2.9 My Interests . 64
2.10 Poetry . . 66
2.11 Fimka. 67
2.12 The First Place in the District!  . 69
3 High School Life . . . . 73
3.1 In the Sixth Grade . . 73
3.2 In the Seventh Grade  . 75
3.3 The Indecent Topic  . 75
3.4 My Circle of Reading . 77
3.5 I Chose Mathematics .  . 78
3.6 A Circle at the Palace of Pioneers .  . 79
3.7 Two Lectures for School Children .  . 82
3.8 Murderers in Doctors’ Smocks . . 83
3.9 The English Teacher .  . 84
3.10 Arkady Alexeev .. 87
3.11 Alexeev’s Story . . . 88
4 Mathematics and Other Activities . . 91
4.1 Vanity of Vanities, All Is Vanity .  91
4.2 You Cannot Live Without Women. No! . . 95
4.3 Phase Transition . 97
4.4 My First Mathmech Year .  97
4.5 Student Contests . . 99
4.6 We Lead Our Life in Major Key . . 101
4.7 A Mysterious ID  . 103
4.8 Musical Moments (Leonid Druz)  . 105
4.9 Valery Maisky . .  . 117
4.10 The Authorities Did Not Like Me .  . 120
4.11 How I Did Not Become a Dissident .  122
4.12 Misha Danilov . . 123
5 Mathmech Life .. 129
5.1 The Mathmech Cafeteria .. 129
5.2 Fractional Derivatives . . 130
5.3 Something New at Last! . .. . 130
5.4 Student Scientific Society (SSS) and Tseitin .. 132
5.5 “Quasi-publication” and S. M. Lozinsky . 133
5.6 The Mathmech Choir . 139
5.7 My Doubts and S. G. Mikhlin’s Advice  . 139
5.8 A Few Words About Mikhlin .  . 142
5.9 In the Fourth Year . . 144
5.10 The Virgin Soil . . 147
5.11 In My Fifth Year .  . 148
5.12 Bakelman’s Special Course . . 149
5.13 Job Placement . . 152
5.14 Siegfried . . 154
6. Dissertations and the Years After .. 157
6.1 Steel Sheets and YMS . . . 157
6.2 Possibility and Reality .  . 158
6.3 Defense at the Moscow State University . . 159
6.4 Defense at the Leningrad University . 163
6.5 About V. I. Smirnov . . . 166
6.6 An Order: Scatter the Composed Type .  . 167
6.7 About the “Big Seminar” .. 168
6.8 After the Defense of the Doctor’s Degree Dissertation .  170
6.9 One Hour Late, Lose the Whole Year . .. 175
6.10 A Similar Topic . 176
6.11 Non-Travels to Foreign Countries . . 176
6.12 Counterexamples to a Hilbert Problem  . 178
6.13 Talent .. 181
6.14 Farewell, My Young Years! . . 182
6.15 How Many Medium Range Rockets Were There? . 185
6.16 Under Close Surveillance? . . 186
Index .  . 189