most recent 30 from http://mathoverflow.net 2010-08-01T09:21:57Z http://mathoverflow.net/feeds/question/10754 http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/rdf http://mathoverflow.net/questions/10754/mathematics-and-walking tonk 2010-01-05T00:55:26Z 2010-01-06T12:05:15Z

<p>It is a well-known recipe that in order to live long you have to walk much (and work (in the usual sense) less). See Paul Halmos, who recently died at the age of 90, on this <a href="http://books.google.com.au/books?id=Xnv5fXu1vFoC&amp;pg=PA20/" rel="nofollow">here</a>. But walking four miles daily takes a helluva lot of time, so I wonder what useful things I could do while walking (apart from listening to maths podcasts). </p>

http://mathoverflow.net/questions/10754/mathematics-and-walking/10762#10762 Scott Carter 2010-01-05T01:28:24Z 2010-01-05T01:28:24Z

<p>Since 3 to 5 miles is my preferred routine for walking, I would strongly suggest listening to the inner voice while walking. </p> <p>Certainly much of my mathematical thought on these excursions is arithmetical: "What is my rate of walking? How many steps am I taking?" I sometimes count every third step using binary digits on my hands. Two hands are sufficient to measure 1 mile. I compute my average stride, and when walking on a 400 meter track, I estimate the excess distance earned by walking on the outside lane (8 meters extra radius). </p> <p>In summer while I swim, I often compute the number of laps complete as a fraction in lowest terms. In a 25 yard pool, 72 laps is 1800 yards --- a mile and a lagniappe. The fractions help me keep count. 1/72, 1/36, 1/24, 1/18, $\ldots$ . </p> <p>To help fulfill the professional stereotypes, I often mutter to myself the text of an introduction that I am writing, or go over the thornier bits in a lecture to be given. At rare occasions, I find myself thinking deeply about research. And it is often at these times, I find the mistake in my thinking of the previous evening. </p> <p>In short, walking is the time for mental relaxation and/or calisthenics associated with the profession. </p>