Several things:
1. Sorry for the lack of posts this week, but I have family currently visiting me in London. We've been visiting the few remaining tourist attractions that I've not visited during the past year/past visits. A selection of photos follows towards the end of this post and a longer description of this week's activities will appear next week.
2. I take back whatever I said two posts ago about not going back on a decision. I may have trouble admitting when I need help, but I am not too proud that I can't admit when I've made a mistake. I hope that life will be turning a new page now that I've done so.
3. I seem to have lost motivation to run. The past few days I've run on the treadmill at the gym in order to fit in my workout schedule around my Dad's visit. But it seems like
such a chore. This is really worrying because I have a 20-miler planned this weekend and I
really don't want to do it. I'm actually quite scared at the thought of it.
4. Pictures:
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| Stand at the Prime Meridian of the World in Greenwich: Life goal accomplished |
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| National Maritime Museum |
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| Royal Observatory, Greenwich |
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| Me at Hampton Court Palace |
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| Dad at Hampton Court Palace |
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| Portion of Hampton Court PAlace |
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| Hampton Court Palace |
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| Just a portion of the 60 acres of gardens at Hampton Court Palace |
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| King's College, Cambridge |
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| Cambridge |
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| Cambridge |
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| Punter on the River Cam |
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| Mathematical Bridge, Cambridge |
5. I have 2 3000-word essays (each worth 50% of my core module and Middle East class grades) due within the next 2 weeks.
This is how I feel about this:
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| Stone carving in the Round Church or portrait of Rebecca? You decide. |
nice pictures! Good luck on your writing.
ReplyDeleteMay I ask: Why is it called the Mathematical Bridge?
ReplyDeleteThere was nothing in Cambridge to indicate the origins of the name, but that 'reputable source of knowledge' Wikipedia had this to say on the matter:
ReplyDeleteMathematical explanation
The arrangement of timbers is a series of tangents that describe the arc of the bridge, with radial members to tie the tangents together and triangulate the structure, making it rigid and self supporting. This type of structure, technically tangent and radial trussing, is an efficient structural use of timber, and was also used for the timber supporting arches (centring) used for building stone bridges.[1]
Myths
A popular fable is that the bridge was designed and built by Sir Isaac Newton without the use of nuts or bolts. Various stories relate how at some point in the past either students or fellows of the University attempted to take the bridge apart and put it back together, but were unable to work out how to hold the structure together, and were obliged to resort to adding nuts and bolts. In reality, bolts or the equivalent are an inherent part of the design. When it was first built, iron spikes were driven into the joints from the outer side, where they could not be seen from the inside of the parapets, explaining why bolts were thought to be an addition to the original. Note that Newton died in 1727, 22 years before the bridge was constructed.[1]
Whether this is actually true is another matter entirely...