On Arch-nemeses
In high school I had an arch-nemesis. He was a boy from one of the county schools. We were both formidable competitors in a local quiz bowl. I represented my school in 8 of 10 events, while he did all 10. (My weak background in Arts and Literature is something I should probably still work on. ) In the early years, I would do well, but he would do spectacular.
I didn’t have much against him, but my friends saw the rudiments of a great rivalry, my attempts to compete with this juggernaut of knowledge. They imagined him the Mandark to my Dexter. They would tell other students who hadn’t been to the competition, and this got there imaginations goins. Probably in someone’s mind there were capes and magic wands.
Through my junior year, I never defeated him in this quiz bowl. We had other meetings, a few mathematics competitions here an there. In particular at the Edison Math Contest, we both scored top-fives as juniors. He still beat me.
Andrew Mizener and I took over leadership of the quiz bowl team for our senior year. Together we helped the team do better than it had in the past 4 years. Still, we could not defeat my ultimate adversary and his team, but we did edge them in the mathematics section, a tiny victory.
We had a few more contests that year, the were close, but I never got a definitive victory. It became clear that the Edison Math Contest would effectively be my last shot at a win. I took the test and felt like I did well, like I’d gotten almost ever problem right.
At lunch we went to a sports bar, as was the tradition passed from seniors to Juniors. We discussed the problems and anticipated the results. Someone had talked to my nemesis, apparently he’d missed a problem, one that I found fun, but not that difficult.
They announced the results, and I had finally won one. This was a great moment for me, and part of the experiences that have led me to a new version of the Turner Thesis.
I propose that people, institutions, and societies are at there best, when they have a powerful arch-nemesis to defeat. Said differently, behind every great man, there’s an arch-nemesis with a shovel.
As for my arch-nemesis, we didn’t meet much afterwards. I found out last year the he was studying mathematics at OSU. Sadly, I’ve recently learned that he has moved into economics. As Erdös would say, he has died.
So I’m left paying my respects to a once noble adversary, and looking for a new arch-nemesis. If you’d like to apply for that position, please upload a brief CV, and Statement of Contempt.
This Post Involves a Nontrivial Amount of Mathematics
Monday, June 9, 2008
