JF Ptak Science Books  Quick Post

There is a longish thread on this blog about Blank, Empty, and Missing Things: faces, ethics, beginnings, ends, causes, effects, insight, wisdom, clouds, blood, smoke, rain, depth, height, and so on.  There are also several posts that look a lot like today’s entry–one was for astronomers, and another for mining execs from the 19th century, which was a particularly peculiar image because the head outlines had no faces though most did have moustaches and beards.  Today’s bit is for mathematicians attending the 18th summer meeting of the Mathematical Association of America in 1934, and I found it somewhat ironic that there would be no outlines of the bodies at all, just numbers. Perhaps this is more appropriate than ironic.  In any event, here’s the glassine overlay:

[Source: American Mathematical Monthly, volume 41, 1934.]

And the two page spread with photo and the glassine in place: