About
My name is Alan Rendall. I come from Scotland originally but I have been living in Germany for many years.When I started this blog I was working in Potsdam and living in Berlin. I later moved to take up a mathematics professorship at the University of Mainz. I am a mathematician by training and conviction. My professional web page is here. In this blog I write about topics which interest me without restriction as to subject. I am fascinated by biology and medicine, particularly immunology, and this has a big influence on the choice of topics.
Why do I maintain this blog? Here are some reasons.
1. I find that writing about a subject is an excellent way of learning and of fixing knowledge. I write in order to teach myself. The advantage of doing so in a blog is that it imposes a certain discipline. Knowing that someone might read what I am writing motivates me to be very careful about verifying the facts. This is all quite independent of whether anyone other than myself actually reads the posts.
2. I hope that from time to time someone who knows something about the subject of a post which I do not know or can correct something I have got wrong will provide a helpful comment. This does happen occasionally although unfortunately not very often.
3. The blog is a way of spreading knowledge about topics which I feel deserve to be better known.
4. I enjoy it. I can write about a much wider range of subjects and in a more relaxed and personal way than when I am writing research papers.
Hydrobates 
August 6, 2009 at 1:49 pm |
Hi Alan,
just let me tell you that I like you blog very much – just in case you don’t get any feedback. Elite, scientific publication – while necessary – discloses most interested people who would like to silently observe the scientific dispute. Therefore I appreciate your initiative to take some time and sched some light in various areas of your (scientific) interests.
Thank you,
Özgür Kesim
November 18, 2009 at 10:16 am |
Hello again Alan,
Recovering from the flu and at the being bored stage I was browsing the ether for information on the influenza virus, and lo, I found your blog. “Can’t be the same Rendall” thinks I, but here you are. Waxing on topics anew – “what a guy” as they say in Scotland.
February 1, 2010 at 2:00 am |
Hello Alan, nice to read this blog!
I am the undergrad physics student that has interest much to the general relativity and differential geometry. Plus, currently I am learning about the PDE analysis from Lawrence Evans’ book because I notice that the role of PDE and functional in physics is very important and has wide spectrum. What a surprise to see your book about PDE in General Relativity! ^^