Is there a way to characterize automorphism groups of trees? (E.g. classify all of them or devise an algorithm/formula to check if a group is such) Naively I suspected they would be any product of symmetric groups b/c of independence of actions but then that doesn't take into account when identical subtrees, so...

I believe we can consider all subtrees of S from the topnode, index them T1, T2, T3 ... each distinct but with multiplicity m1, m2, etc., and the decompose Aut(T) using the individual Aut(Ti)'s as components and involving the multiplicities somehow.

hello all

So the EPSRC has decided only statistics and applied probability are worth funding, out of all the fields in mathematics. Hmmm. Maybe I should change tracks...

From gowers' blog?

Nah, I was looking at Totaro's, actually.

He's running for a LMS position again.

Gowers wrote something about that a while back

Yeah, he did, but I didn't notice what they were cutting down to back then.

Mmm.. I have no idea if it's even possible for me to be funded for any kind of PhD

Consider going overseas! Make credible our lecturer's complaints that the best talent is being sucked away to the US. :p

Mmm.. I've been looking at that too. No idea how competitive it is though. I can imagine pretty tough

I have no idea either. The application process is different, at any rate.

The most puzzling part of it all is how they ask for a statement of objectives but at the same time expect everyone to go through yet more general (mathematical) education.

Are the example statements anywhere?

I've never looked, actually, despite dreading them for the last 3 years...

On the other hand, at least it's not asking for a research proposal. Which is what computer science departments in the UK like to ask for...

Have you considered doing something in CompSci then.

*?

Not really. It just happens that some categorists/logicians are working in CS departments rather than mathematics.

Even in Cambridge there are a handful at the CL.

That's what I mean though

I'm not entirely convinced that the work some of them do is really computer science...

does it matter if they get funding?

They're funded by EPSRC too, sadly.

Not that I qualify for EPSRC funding, but it seems like a useful barometer...

Yeah, but if it's part of computer science perhaps they're less particular

I don't think I do either

And funding in Guernsey has dried up entirely

There is talk of only letting people go to one of 20 "most popular unis"

(which mean crap south coast ones)

ah, not EU. I didn't realise.

Yeah, very unfortunate

Although in the past people have got funding

(from States of Guernsey)

When is it recommended to start talking to potential supervisors?

I have no idea. I contacted one yesterday at Birmingham, to ask about the whole research proposal business.

Cool, I'm sure I'll be pestering you regularly this year to find out more

Which courses are you taking?

Hah, I'll have to find someone to pester myself...

The current plan for Michaelmas is to attend: Differential Geometry Algebraic Geometry, Commutative Algebra, 2-Dimensional Category Theory, Algebraic Topology, and Category Theory.

If it proves to be insane I'll probably drop something.

Qiaochu? I'd imagine he'd be pretty clued up

Cool - depending how my courses work out I might be in DG and AT

Although that is quite a few courses

Yeah, given that six 24-lecture courses is the maximum you're allowed to take to exam...

2-category theory will probably be dropped quickly, since it's a non-examinable graduate course. And probably incomprehensible.

Yeah, and don't most people do 5+essay?

I don't know if the essay is all that common, actually.

Really?

I thought most people did ti

The few Part IIIers I knew last year all did it

The timetable worked out quite badly for me, though it's not surprising. I have very few courses in Lent.

I suspect that's because my selection is broad and shallow rather than narrow and deep...

Mmm... I have a similar problem with Part II courses

But I don't think some of my options are /that/ obscure

PQM clashing with Part II DG is clearly an error.

PQM clashing with Probably and Measure is also a clear error :p

but eh, Part II Diff. Geom. is a wasted opportunity in my opinion. You've read the notes by now?

Perhaps that's the one I mean?

There's something clashing with PQM

No, PQM clashing with PM was my year.

Not bothering with it

You're notes were great btw

Can't remember if I've already told you

Well, it's really Kovalev's notes. He's not such a bad lecturer when it comes to this.

I may change my mind next year when I have to face his lectures on the ‘same’ subject again...

Will he treat it the same though/

It's got a very different "feel"

I really have no idea...

Six people and it's rather quiet...

this place is not as popular as the main forum hehe

@Jonas: High five!

High five ;-).

Not everyone's that lucky, remember that. Relish every moment.

have they enabled math notation in the chat?

Not yet. Maybe you should try pestering meta.SO ...

I just think it would be helpful that or a kind of white board chat

I understand perfectly. It's deferred at the moment, but I imagine if the demand increases...

so j.m. what do you do / did for a living?

I am currently a com sci/ math student

I want to know more about the users of this site

I'm a chemist. Math's more or less a hobby for me.

A peculiar one, but still a hobby. :)

That seem like a great hobby

Dennis: are you an undergraduate?

yea my real major is combined major in mathematics and computer science with security track

I guess you could tell from the questions I've posted?

Not really, I was just guessing. :)

"security" - so you're interested in crypto then?

That and computer scecurity.

I see. These are exciting times...

you have studied crypto? I am currently taking it this semester.

I have, but it's been a long time ago, and I'm no longer up to date with the new stuff.

e.g. I'd probably still be able to understand a mathematical description of AES, but I haven't really felt compelled to carefully study it today.

Currently I need to get ready for number theory in the spring. If I pass intro to abstract algebra which seems much harder then I thought it would be.

Yeah, it's rather complex...

So is this room always this exciting?

I was hoping for people to be randomly teaching abstract algebra.

Depends. Usually it's Asaf who talks a lot.

The guys who specialize in that sort of math seem to have stepped out, unfortunately.

what does Asaf talk about, when he is around?

I think i will like this Asaf he has a good link in this info. :D

i was told to day that there is an alg to find ma+nb=1

in the case that (a,b)=1 iff ma+nb=1

have you heard of it?

The extended euclidean algorithm

o i have seen this before but i dont know why i saw it.

I need to be able to do this easily dont I

It's good to familiarize yourself with it. Probably try writing a routine for doing it properly at least once in your life.

Anyway, I must go. See you guys.

take care.

I have a question about notation (re: Harry Altman's nice question math.stackexchange.com/questions/63196/…). I want to know what F^n / ~ means, how it is defined. I think I get what it means as a topological space. But let's take the case where F itself is a nice metric space, like R. Then can I put a metric on F^n/~?

@Soarer Thank you for the clarification. I am still trying to visualize this space. I was hoping for a real metric. Not for every ~, but in this special case where we identify the permutations of coordinates.