A tale of perfidy in the math community and how a lowly adjunct rises to the occasion.
Written by Colin Adams.
Colin Adams
Colin Adams’s love of math theater emerged when he was cast in the role of the integer 3 for the Kindergarten Spring Pageant. Showered with accolades by his parents for his gripping portrayal, they hailed it as a break-through performance. He did indeed go on to bigger roles, eventually playing double-digit integers before his graduation from elementary school. His biggest role has been as the Thomas T. Read Professor of Mathematics at Williams College, where he is required to play the character of Thomas T. Read in all appearances. In addition to mathematical theater, Colin likes to write books, including math story collections and math novels, and research papers. In his spare time, he and his dog Rusty like to cuddle on the couch and watch animal-themed movies and go on long walks when they have heart-to-heart conversations, typically one-sided, which suits them both perfectly.
Satyan Devadoss
Known throughout the eastern hemisphere as a household name, and hailed as the “Indian Pacino” and the “Bollywood Brando”, Satyan Devadoss did not break into the American scene until later in life. He spent nearly 15 years as an understudy to Colin Adams at the Williams Repertory Theatre until a schism (over the proper pronunciation of “holomorphic”) led to a bitter separation. Moving to the opposite coast, he now appears as the Fletcher Jones professor of applied mathematics at the University of San Diego. Tonight is the first time he is sharing a stage with Adams in nearly a decade.
Nancy Scherich 