Mathematician, Artist, Maker, I find myself looking for a job... | Hacker News Reader

Mathematician, Artist, Maker, I find myself looking for a job...

maxwelldemon.com

94 pointsGelada36 comments

When I read the title I thought to myself.. "If you were really smart you'd 'make' a job for yourself"

But I see that's pretty much what you're trying to do by advertising like this on HN.

So, instead, I say.. "Good luck"

Coincidentally, I just submitted a story to HN from another mathematician, artist and maker, which you might enjoy: http://vihart.com/blog/mobius-story/

It's an absolutely extraordinary video (watch closely!), and anyone who can create stuff like this will be able to do whatever they want. More background in this New York Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/science/18prof.html?_r=3

I would second that, Vi Hart's work is wonderful. Though her father's work is also awesome: http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/12/introducing_math_mo...

This guy sounds very talented, except perhaps at finding a job. He describes lots of interesting things he can do, without really describing what benefits he can offer to a potential employer.

Most of all he does not really describe what he would like to do (there is an undertone of teaching mathematics, most of which I would assume is done at university's and most of their recruitment would probably not be done through this way).

Providing a portfolio of a variety of skills without really defining what you want to do is really going to limit your employment potential to a select few.

That's because all his life was spent in academia and getting a real job after years in the university can be a big jump, especially if you are a theoretician.

I even have my own Laser cutter!

Me too. I was under the impression that a lot of geeks have such things. I've got a lathe, a mill and a box and pan brake as well. I'm working on my own RepRap.

I honestly don't know. Is this as common as I think or something actually worth bragging about?

I'd be curious to know how many other HN'ers have such things and just think its normal.

I have friends who own those things for their business and let me use them. As for how common that is, I'm going to guess it's a) more common amongst hardware geeks than software geeks and b) more common outside of major cities where real estate is expensive.

I think he was more trying to use it as evidence he really does do what he claims he does, rather than bragging.

Architecture would be the perfect field for this guy. Specifically at those firms that dabble with digital fabrication technology.

There's been a major transformation in the industry. Designers using CAD-based software that interfaces with 2D/3D cutting and welding machinery has allowed custom structures to be created in a cost effective way. There are some nice images/videos here showing the process (albeit on a smaller scale): http://workshopsfactory.com/past-workshops/

Here are some interesting links. A few examples in the real world: http://cspacepavilion.blogspot.com/2008/04/pavilion-180408.h... http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/6388/asymptote-a... http://www.evolo.us/architecture/winners-of-the-tex-fab-repe...

Frank Gehry was one of the pioneers in this space. His buildings would be completely unfeasible without the use of digital fabrication. Consequently, his firm was one of the first to package together a platform (based on CATIA) to allow architecture firms to manage mass customized components within the confines of building lifecycle management: http://www.gehrytechnologies.com/index.php?option=com_jportf...

Here's Harvard's design school incorporating robotic assembly: http://www.archicentral.com/on-the-brinck-at-graduate-school...

I would encourage Maxwell to check out Chuck Hoberman for inspiration.. even get in touch with him.

Hoberman studied Sculpture at Cooper Union, and Engineering in Columbia.

He is the inventor of the Hoberman Sphere (an expanding geometrical structure) which he leveraged into a very successful line of toys.

NASA later commissioned him to adapt it to future Mars missions. And I think his work was shown once at the MOMA.

http://www.hoberman.com/

Edit: Turns out that a close friend knows Hoberman. I think your work is great and I'll be happy to attempt an introduction if you're interested. pitaru.com has my email at the bottom.

I'm software developer working as a tech consultant at Accenture. But I'm also an artist: http://picasaweb.google.com/samuel.jennings/Art.

I think art and math are entirely connected. You combine enough logical statements together, you produce creativity.

In fact, I get a bigger creative rush while solving an algorithmic problem than I do producing physical art.

Possibly more interesting than the article itself are two links towards the bottom: http://hexayurt.com/ and http://www.tilings.org.uk/Hexayurt_Family.pdf. Have to say if I had the money though I'd hire him to tile my front entry way in Penrose tiles of teak and walnut--- yum!

Pretty sure he'd find a job in the ECO industry, where they use recycled components and materials to produce housing and solve real world problems.

I could see that person thrive in that industry.

Sometimes it's about being in the right place at the right time...

From my own experience, he's too enthralled with mathematics, which in many ways is like having a photographic memory. Use it to your advantage, but spare us the advert (just the results would be fine).

I hold a math degree and did grad level research (Combinatorial Geometry)

I do photography ( http://senthilgandhi.com/gallery/ http://goo.gl/zxfnx http://goo.gl/R85n6 )

I have worked as a software developer ( web apps, compression algorithms etc. )

Incidentally I am looking for a job as well! ( Product Management/Design ) - blog: http://www.urbanravine.com

Email in profile.

the about page on your website is throwing a 404

Oops, fixed now. (redirecting to my blog about temporarily) Thanks for the heads up.

I would suggest honing in on programming and logic skills, software engineering is a vast space of opportunity. Unfortunately Architecture is one of the worst industries in terms of opportunity. It is over saturated with talent. Many of these brilliant minds work endless hrs for free.

grasshopper3d.com is full of jobless young designers with the same skill set in parametric design...

From the title I thought this was a joke about three separate people, a mathematician, an artist and a maker all looking for a job, in the classic 'an englishman, an irishman and a scotsman go into a pub' format.

I'd try out one of my own but I havent been awake long enough...

My two greatest passions are also math and art. That's what I started Art.sy.

One of our greatest challenges has been finding people whose abilities span the gap between these two, traditionally disparate, fields.

If you are interested in working with us, please reach out!

Very nice designs! I love to see people who are different and brilliant.

My suggestion is to teach math/design online; maybe even create your own online course/site.

That's interesting, because I also work as an artist/writer/programmer freelancer.

Though, I am not a mathematican.

I posted some advice in the replies on his wordpress. I'll repost it here as I think it applies to anyone in the making/programming/mathematics venn.

Although I think you could conquer art as a lasting business it's difficult to simply pick up as a stopgap measure. It takes time to build up an audience, figure out promotions, weigh out the cost of merchandise, and tour the right conferences. However, once all the proper mechanisms are in place it can develop into a really rewarding career.

You might consider joining the http://100kgarages.com/ 100k Garages Network to contract out some time on your equipment as a short term solution. I've been selling through Etsy and producing work on commission for a few years. It takes time to ramp up, but promoting through MAKE magazine, BoingBoing, and various geek and maker magazines is easy if you make things that capture geek imaginations. Writing Instructables and giving talks at Makter Faire and Hack Labs are both ways of giving your work a long tail that brings in a steady stream of visitors.

http://www.pacificpuzzleworks.com/ Lee Krasnow is an inspiring example of a successful home maker. He produces intensely mathematically driven complex wooden puzzles. He makes them with such precision and skill that he can charge a fairly high price on each and make a decent living out of the affair. I feel the same about http://www.taomc.com/ Bruce Shapiro, http://www.arthurganson.com/ Arthur Ganson, and http://oilpunk.com/ John Saurriuguarte. http://sternlab.org/ Becky Stern makes her living through a combo of writing for MAKE and beautiful crafty projects. http://adafruit.com Limor Fried, better known as Lady Ada, spun out her hacker electronics kits into a thriving business.

With your skills a career in interaction design (at a place like http://tellart.com/ Tellart, http://www.wetdesign.com/ Wet, http://tangibleinteraction.com/ Tangible Interaction, etc.) might be a solid fit. Doing a combo of engineering, fabricating, and design is a mighty force for companies that produce one-offs like conference booths, promotional sculptures, art installations, lobby displays, signs, and interactive advertisements. I've done little jobs for Tellart for years and it's always rewarding.

Your work is impressive and I'd like to see more, bigger, and more impossible varieties of it. Please get in touch if you'd like to chat about more possibilities, places, and art.

-M@

>Mathematician, Artist, Maker,

Humanitarian, Philanthropist, Senatorial candidate, Backpacker, Engineer, Physicist, Rocketeer, Musketeer

Everybody is fucking amazing and

>looking for a job...

wants something

There's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting something if you have something useful to offer in return.

Sure, I could use a rocketeer. I have some chinese fireworks and a lawn chair out back begging for a warm body.

…why is a resume on hacker news?

Because this man has a unique and wonderful array of talents.

Well, his unique array of talents seems to come down to:

1. He has a PhD about tiles

2. He makes physical tiles, and

3. He can talk in public about mathematics, and in particular tiles.

I'm sure he's a smart guy and there's lots of places which could benefit from his work, but if everybody starts posting their CVs on HN then... well, maybe it wouldn't be so bad, actually.

Hey, it beats the piss out of Yet Another BS Article About Google, Apple or someone's hot new flaming shit that everyone in the Valley is buzzing about. They call it variety. I've been told it's the spice of life...

I find myself wanting to buy some tiles.

My bathroom could use a retiling...

I on the other hand find that self-proclaimedly "creative" people most of the time aren't.

I don't think this guy qualifies as most people, seeing as how he's a mathematician who also created this: http://maxwelldemon.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/penrose-tile...

Did he proclaim he was creative? Did he even use that word to describe his fabrication?

Interestingly, you'll notice he did, but only when he was discussing his teaching ability...

I find them to at least be nice.

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