Chinese Abacus as Home Decor?

We've lived in our condo for a year now, and somehow our walls remain white and bare. As I was surfing online to find some wall art inspiration, I was intrigued by the abacus wall art available at Pottery Barn and CB2. I thought this would be THE perfect souvenir for two math fans to bring home from China. While other travelers may be searching for jade, porcelain, and magic carpets, thus started my endless search for a giant abacus on our holiday to the Orient.

The Chinese invented the abacus in 2nd century B.C. as a counting instrument. To my surprise, the abacus is very much in use by store clerks and accountants even today. In fact, I learned that the suanpan, the Chinese name for abacus, can be used for multiplication, division, addition, subtraction, square root, and cube root calculations as well. According to Feng Shui, the abacus placed on desk or cashier will multiply profits and enhance business dealings. For those seeking for knowledge in fields of such as mathematics, accountancy, science and engineering, placing an abacus on the study table can enhance learning.

Although my dreams of finding an ginormous abacus in China did not come true (yet!), I brought home functional abacuses (or is it abaci?) to place on our study table. Looking forward to many GREAT academic years ahead!

Chuck Close Self-Portrait at the High Museum

I can't think of a better way to relax after sitting for the Algebra PhD Qualifying Exam, than to spend an evening at Friday Jazz at The High Museum in Atlanta. Galleries and special exhibitions are open for extended hours, while live jazz is performed in the Atrium lobby every 3rd Friday of the month. The past Friday was our first time attending, but certainly not our last.

High Museum's permanent collection ranges from African to European, modern to contemporary, and folk to photographaphic art. Special exhibitions have included works of artists Leonardo DiVinci, Salvadore Dali, and others. In particular, I was attracted to a self-portrait by Chuck Close. Turns out, almost all of his work is based on a grid structure for the respresentation of an image, and in this case, himself.  The result is a geometric illusion such that viewed from afar the image appears real, but as the viewer steps closer, the geometric dots and dashes and intentional tones are more apparent and the image is lost.   Amazing!