The Wykehamist January 2020 Edition 1487 | Page 18

MATHMĀ STUDIUM 2019
REUEL ARMSTRONG (H) DMITRIY KRAVETS (D)
Senior Team Maths Challenge
Studium this year proved to be no less informative than usual, and perhaps even more eclectic in its selec-
On the fourth of December, we sent a team of four mathematicians to try and keep the regional trophy. The tion of talks than previously, ranging from a talk on Shostakovich given by one of the great composer’s closest
team was composed of top years Reuel Armstrong (H), and Max Wong (F), and fourth years Sean Jaffe (Coll) and friends, to a science-themed rock concert performed by Dr French and Mr King. Below are brief reviews of just
Rtvik Patel (Coll). The challenge started with a group round where the team completed the questions in 6 minutes. a few of the lectures.
It continued with a cross-number where both pairs managed to make not a mistake and it concluded with a fully
successful shuttle round. The team managed to achieve a perfect 186/186 on the challenge, beating Peter Symonds John Pilkington came to Winchester for a fifth consecutive year at least, to speak about one of his wonder-
and Charterhouse and cementing a place at the final in London on the fourth of February, where they will try and ful journeys. This year he described his long trek from Trieste to Constantinople, across the Balkan peninsula,
beat last years 9th place. focusing particularly on the aftermath of the bloody conflicts which befell the region at the close of the previous
Maths, Magic, and the Electric Guitar
Starting his lecture with a maths trick right out of his book, '1089 and all that', Dr David Acheson brought
century. Mr Pilkington expressed his deep hope for the future peace among the various ethnic and religious
groups of south-eastern Europe. From his talk it was clear that the people of the region are still deeply trauma-
tised by the recent past, but as one representative of the youngest Kosovan generation told him about their past
foes, ‘we will never be friends, but we try to be good neighbours’. It appeared that only in the rugged, inaccessi-
together an eclectic mix of ideas into a fluid and dynamic routine. Beginning with simple maths and progressing ble mountain villages of Montenegro, where life has remained unchanged for centuries, was any tranquillity to
through infinite series to his own research into fluid dynamics and the interaction of vortex pairs, his simple style be found. We thank Mr Pilkington for his talk and hope to welcome him at the College in the future.
captivated the audience, to great effect. The talk was so well subscribed that it had to be held in QE2 rather than
SLT, and exceeded our expectations true with an absolutely resounding ending on the electric guitar.
It was a great pleasure to have the renowned historian Adam Zamoyski come and speak on the origins of
nationalism. Drawing on a great synthesis of personal research as well as the work of such thinkers as Benedict
Anderson, Count Zamoyski expounded the vast topic with great skill. He illustrated his lecture with a number
of historical anecdotes ranging from the birth of modern nationhood during the American War of Independence
to the highly romanticised nationalisms of Greece in the early 19th century, and of course of Poland with her
several valiant but hopeless insurgencies against Czarist rule. His talk was followed by a lively series of ques-
tions, which helped to contextualise his ideas and relate them to the various forms of nationalisms of the modern
world. We hope Count Zamoyski enjoyed his visit to the College and thank him for the highly informative talk.
John Davie gave a fascinating introduction to Friedrich Nietzsche and his thought, and particularly the
inspiration which the philosopher received from Greek tragedy. Mr Davie, himself a classicist, masterfully
linked elements of Nietzsche’s biography, writings, and interest with Greek drama, pointing out how much of
Nietzschean thought can be traced to the plays of Euripides, and specifically to Bacchae (Mr Davies’ translation
of which is now published by Penguin). Greek religion, encapsulated in the ancient plays, with its emphasis on
the moral dubiousness of the gods themselves, and human capacity to overcome the gods in that respect, was
for Nietzsche a direct antithesis to what he labelled ‘Christian Sklavenmoral’, which hindered humanity from
achieving its true potential. Mr Davie linked this to Nietzsche’s friendship with Wagner, both men harbouring a
longing for a ‘purified’ pre-Christian mentality, which they saw reflected in Greek and Germanic myth respecti-
vely. Mr Davie did not conceal his admiration and affinity for Nietzsche and his thought, which added potency
to his denunciation of the notion that Nietzschean thought was appropriated by Nazi ideology. We thank Mr
Davie for his talk.
Christopher Vajda, an OW, very aptly the current political circumstances, gave a talk on the function and
purpose of the Court of Justice of the European Union. It was a very rare opportunity to learn of the intricate
inner workings of the judicial system of the European Union, particularly with regards to the extent of the autho-
rity of EU law among member states. It was a great pleasure to welcome Mr Vajda back to Winchester, and we
thank him for his revealing talk.
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