After a few years at MIT, the Mathematician Norbert Wiener moved to a larger house.
His wife, knowing his nature, figured that he would forget his new address and
be unable to find his way home after work. So she wrote the address
of the new home on a piece of paper that she made him put in his shirt pocket.
At lunchtime that day, the professor had an inspiring idea. He pulled the
paper out of his pocket and used it to scribble down some calculations. Finding
a flaw, he threw the paper away in disgust. At the end of the day he realized
he had thrown away his address, he now had no idea where he lived.
Putting his mind to work, he came up with a plan. He would go to his old
house and await rescue. His wife would surely realize that he
was lost and go to his old house to pick him up. Unfortunately, when he
arrived at his old house, there was no sign of his wife, only a small girl
standing in front of the house. "Excuse me, little girl" he said "but do you
happen to know where the people who used to live here moved to?" "It's okay,
Daddy," said the little girl, "Mommy sent me to get you".
Moral 1. Don't be surprised if the professor doesn't know your name by the end
of the semester.
Moral 2. Be glad your parents aren't mathematicians. if your parents are
mathematicians, introduce yourself and get them to help you through the
course.
- From the introduction of "How to ace calculus" by
C. Adams, A. Thompson and J. Hass