Re: [MLUG - DISCUSSION] predicting the future

[Stephen Montgomery-Smith <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

Mike Miller wrote:

.....

> I suppose the time spent on the maintenance of "hopeful metaphysical 
> notions" won't stop you from getting your scientific work done.  It 
> could be like having a hobby.

You give the impression that religion will hinder one in ones scientific 
pursuits, rather like deafness hindered Beethoven or schizophrenia 
hindered Nash (not to say that they didn't achieve a lot but I am sure 
that these conditions did not help).

But my experience with religion and my professional career has been 
rather the opposite.  I became a Christian at the end of my first year 
of my Ph.D.  At that time, amongst other personal issues I faced), I 
felt that my ability to effectively do mathematics was at its end.  I 
felt that I was going nowhere, very fast.

A few weeks after I became a Christian, my Ph.D. advisor began asking me 
what I was up to, since I had been avoiding him for the prior year.  We 
arranged to meet the following week.  I prayed about it, and asked my 
friends to pray.  A few days later, I sat down with a blank piece of 
paper.  It was as if all the fog and mush in my mind suddenly cleared. 
Ideas just followed, one after the other.  When I met my advisor a few 
days later, I had plenty to tell him.

A few weeks later I was stuck on a problem.  I prayed hard, and an hour 
later it came out.  This proof was something I never expected, and was 
the cornerstone of the main results in my Ph.D. thesis.  Again and 
again, I find prayer has really helped me in my career.

In 1995 I made a decision that maybe I would put God on the backburner 
for a while, and work primarily on my math career.  Looking back, by far 
my most productive years were pre-1995.

Stephen

_______________________________________________
discussion mailing list
EMAIL:PROTECTED
http://mlug.missouri.edu/mailman/listinfo/discussion