Thank you for your responses, and a full 32 hours ahead of the deadline too! I appreciated your comments on the course, especially after I went back and read your mathematical autobiography and agreed that this is just the sort of course you were looking for from the beginning. I wonder if you would look at calculus differently now? Usually when someone describes an unsatisfactory calculus experience, I can chalk a good part of that up to probable ineptitude on the part of the teacher (although I don't admit actually chalking that anywhere). Since Prof. Silverman doesn't fit that description, it may just have been the wrong time for you to tackle those concepts. Of course you can always try again (since I know the professor who will be teaching Math 9 in the fall).

Definitely one of the things that I want to see improved in the future is that maddening "Error Message" when someone has not put something in the homework slot. It definitely discourages reading. I'll bet we'll solve that one the next time.

With respect to the final project, it's unfortunate that the scanning technology was not easier to use since that would have made it much easier to relate to the initial Alice picture and the various geometric poems. I thought the links in your paragraphs were effective, and there could have been even more. It's too bad your comments on cinema could not have come earlier in the course since I'm sure that various members of the class might have be able to contribute other examples. The discussion group didn't get off the ground in too many areas, but one that was successful concerned "Slaughterhouse Five", the book, not the movie, although the movie is a good thing to consider as well.

Course Grade: Satisfactory. Please let me know if you would like a CPR, or some sort of letter of recommendation if you find the need for one from a mathematics professor some time in the future. I am glad that the class made you happy. It works that way for me a good deal of the time too.

Now for the general comment page on your group:

Comments on the Literature Group

Geometric poetry has fascinated any number of writers over the years, and the topic can be explored from several different viewpoints. The classical work of writers like George Herbert (1593-1633) is related to, but not identical to, the more modern examples. There should always be bibliographical references for such figures, especially those who have entries in standard reference works. As it happens a search of the net brings up a number of things, like a chat group arguing over the significance of shape in "Easter Wings" and an interesting tangent in the mention of George Herbert Walker Bush. For the modern writers, it is important to give references so that their work is placed in context. With respect to dimensional poetry, see the example of Dan Margalit in the Cosmology Project.

In the section on children's literature, it is again important to give biographical references to the various authors cited, and links to some particular passages that contain overt dimensional content. Otherwise the page seems rather sketchy. The substance has to be made accessible to anyone who wants to get beyond the introduction.

The short story on Flatland Genocide would be more effective with some links that go into some additional levels of detail concerning the Huygens principle that forms the basis of the plot. One of the virtues of the interactive hypertext is that it permits this sort of explication in a non-intrusive way, to allow the reader to decide on the degree of pedagogy or pedantry, following personal taste. This aspect of the technology is related to the idea of sidebars, as Dewdney's "The Planiverse".

The series of five short essays gives a nice range of approaches to the general topice of dimensionality. The linkage to various sites connected with authors is effective, as is the linking to other parts of the final project. I was happy to learn about Jean Rhys for example, and to see her picture and the first page of her novel. The Joyce page, on the other hand, is a bit hard to navigate. A specific link to "Ulysses" might be more useful. It would be possible to move from the overviews in these paragraphs to more substantial commentary, for example on the implied higher dimensionality of the multiple-narrator fiction of William Faulkner. (Professor Weinstein has something to say about this in his courses and he has given guest lectures in Math 8 in the past.) The idea of presenting plays from different viewpoints suggests other geometric questions. I gave a talk on this topic earlier this semester in a course at RISD on experimental theatre and it would have been good to bring that topic up for our class as well--how does the staging of a play bring out the relationships? The classic example of a story told from many perspectives is the Japanese film "Rashomon", for which there are good web links available. (I just saw it again Sunday night--I recommend it.) Good work.