Episode 14: Swimming, swimming and Geometry with Adam Thompson

00:00:03:

00:00:10: From Mathematics.

00:00:11: Minister, this is On A Tangent.

00:00:13: The podcast where we tell the stories behind mathematics and explore fascinating paths that lead early career researchers to Münster.

00:00:20: My name is Carlo Kauld.

00:00:21: I'm a PhD student in Arithmetic Geometry And i've had the privilege To bring new stories from Münster to you In last month For the seventh and final episode of season.

00:00:32: I am joined by Adam Thompson Originally from Australia.

00:00:36: Adam studied Mathematics at the University of Queensland where he later completed an M-FIL working on expanding Ritchie Solitons.

00:00:44: He is now a PhD candidate at the University of Münster in Christoph Böhm's research group.

00:00:49: His research lies in differential geometry with particular interest in Ritchiesoliton, geometric flows and spaces with symmetry.

00:00:59: So Adam it's great to have you What your first mathematical memory?

00:01:06: I was thinking about this And it's hard to say, like if I think off the top of my head.

00:01:13: Honestly The first thing i remember is something from My last year Of high school

00:01:16: which uh

00:01:18: Cannot possibly be true?

00:01:19: I'm sure I did some math before then But I think maybe one of the earliest ones I can Think of or Maybe One of the Earliest Ones where I really enjoyed Maths Was in grade six so I was maybe around eleven Years old yeah and I Remember there was me and another student In my class who had finished An exercise sheet, I don't know maybe time-stables or something.

00:01:42: Early and so the teacher took us to the back of the room And started tellers about these angle formulae.

00:01:48: You know like PX rule where you go across it's the same Or the U rule Where they have to add to a hundred and eighty.

00:01:57: But yeah i think that is one That stands out for me because It was really The first time when we were enjoying doing some maths Me as this other student.

00:02:05: We're having fun

00:02:07: And it was already geometry.

00:02:10: Yeah, I found something that I liked and never questioned!

00:02:16: It's consistent...

00:02:17: Was this when you were still in the UK?

00:02:19: or where are you

00:02:21: now?

00:02:21: In Australia by this point.

00:02:23: When did you move?

00:02:25: Actually on my seventh birthday so i had a birthday on the plane.

00:02:31: they brought me cake which is quite nice But yeah, so I'd been there maybe four years at that point.

00:02:38: Do

00:02:38: you remember how you felt about moving?

00:02:39: At the time...

00:02:41: I don't remember but as i gather was quite like..I don' t know what to say from my feeling.

00:02:46: Yeah sure!

00:02:46: From what I remember is when we were in a class in the UK before I moved.

00:02:53: We had an exercise where we have come up with a name for an island A hypothetical Island and I chose Australia because I knew it which the teacher rejected because she said it already existed.

00:03:08: So what was the reason why you moved to Australia?

00:03:12: My dad's job, okay yeah.

00:03:14: so I mean before we move to Australia we'd lived in Malaysia as well and then back in the UK And i think there were more that We got to Australia.

00:03:26: my parents thought this place is a nice place and my brother and me are starting to get To an age where they would be good stay.

00:03:33: That's why I was asking.

00:03:35: At some point, it is very hard to move for a child?

00:03:39: Yes so at some points its nice and have consistency.

00:03:45: So you were already travelling early on?

00:03:48: Yes in Malaysia we moved when i must've been seven months old or something.

00:03:57: But would say that you identify mostly with Australia or the UK?

00:04:03: For sure.

00:04:05: I feel very Australian,

00:04:06: was early enough.

00:04:07: Exactly!

00:04:08: Going through...I went to a majority of school there primary and high schools.

00:04:14: that makes you feel connected with all my friends Our Australian.

00:04:21: Do

00:04:21: you remember other things about your high school life?

00:04:23: Like what maybe a typical day in your high-school life looked like?

00:04:27: I mean yeah, High School for me was completely different to what my life is now.

00:04:31: Yeah So during high school i swam competitively.

00:04:35: oh wow

00:04:35: so A typical day would start around four thirty.

00:04:39: We were trained from five five fifteen until seven thirty in the morning.

00:04:45: Then I would have school until Three also in the afternoon.

00:04:50: And then we would swim again from three thirty till six, six-thirty in the evening.

00:04:56: So yeah really my days at high school were dominated by this swimming

00:05:01: and you are still a very good student right?

00:05:03: I mean uh...I could have been better.

00:05:05: okay i guess was often very tired.

00:05:07: Yeah

00:05:08: like swimming two hours going to school can't imagine how it will concentrate.

00:05:13: no idk how well did Like, I don't think i could do it now.

00:05:19: Yeah...I was often very tired so.. I don' know if I was concentrating as hard as I could have.

00:05:24: Did

00:05:25: you already particularly interested in math?

00:05:27: Or was it earlier

00:05:28: than me?

00:05:28: I would say that's my favourite subject.

00:05:31: No for sure.

00:05:33: At some point towards the end of school we had some assignments assignments like a homework task where We had to draw picture on this website Desmos.

00:05:44: Ah, that's cool.

00:05:44: Like here is when we were learning about parabolas and polynomial equations.

00:05:50: Yeah We had to pick a picture And try kind of craze it out on Desmos by matching these polynomials and things like That.

00:05:58: I had a lot of fun with.

00:06:00: It's great!

00:06:01: I mean, i enjoyed it a lot.

00:06:04: I also played around with Besmoth.

00:06:06: actually you now revive this memory in my head that at some point I really liked just so easy to type things and get the brass of functions.

00:06:15: your typing was pretty cool.

00:06:17: Yeah, yeah.

00:06:17: It was super interesting.

00:06:19: when I first came across it My friends at school used to make fun of me for all the time.

00:06:24: At some point they bought my birthday some Desmos socks.

00:06:29: That's so cool.

00:06:31: And what grade were you speaking?

00:06:34: Grade ten.

00:06:36: So i was fifteen.

00:06:37: maybe

00:06:38: At this point just to swim competitively

00:06:40: At this points i still swimming competitively.

00:06:45: I swam competitively up to the end of high school when i was seventeen or so.

00:06:49: And then there were like regular races?

00:06:51: Or how can a picture this, what competitions did you enter

00:06:55: in?

00:06:55: There are maybe two parts to it.

00:06:57: So the main season is of course summer not winter.

00:07:02: August-September time You start The Summer Season and had these meets where we could try go get some time.

00:07:12: and then as the season went on, so in December there was The State Championships where you needed particular qualifying times to enter.

00:07:20: And then in April it was Nationals... So those were two.

00:07:24: we're kind of really building towards throughout this season but they work consistently meets when I could try get time for them.

00:07:34: Did have a speciality

00:07:36: swimming?

00:07:37: Yes, I swam Breaststroke which is the stroke And usually the two hundred meter.

00:07:44: Okay, so I did a hundred as well but that's who hundred i usually get better in.

00:07:48: and When I was training like The squad would split into distances.

00:07:54: So there was like a sprinting section yeah?

00:07:57: They were do slightly different training to.

00:07:59: I was in middle distance.

00:08:02: Yeah, you know some long-distance people which we're crazy my friends.

00:08:06: There is along distant swimmer and he started doing open water at some point.

00:08:10: Wow

00:08:11: So he was swimming ten K, you know like... It's crazy.

00:08:14: He was mad!

00:08:16: Is this the big thing in Australia generally?

00:08:18: The sports culture or...?

00:08:20: I mean yeah it is a very big thing Like relatively Particularly in Queensland where I swim.

00:08:27: Okay Yeah I guess if you look at the Olympics Australia does pretty well on the swimming and majority maybe are from Queensland.

00:08:36: so If you entered Queensland into the Olympics We would compete I think with a lot of countries,

00:08:43: okay?

00:08:44: Yeah it's massive.

00:08:46: There was probably also very social thing right.

00:08:48: yeah i mean all Of my friends were there.

00:08:51: i mean It Was super nice.

00:08:52: in A way you spend six hours With your Friends a day In the pool.

00:08:56: so how did You then Decide to quit this?

00:08:59: i at some point he gets too much.

00:09:02: No for me it became Harder and harder.

00:09:04: i Mean getting up about four.

00:09:06: Thirty five am Every day.

00:09:08: as I was getting older, I wanted to do more things with my friends.

00:09:12: Like go to parties and stuff like that.

00:09:14: It hurt me back at some point.

00:09:17: so... ...I'd had to take half a year off.

00:09:20: then when i came back it's hard to get into it eventually.

00:09:25: yeah just too much effort.

00:09:27: Do you remember your interest in math really sparked the way you knew you wanted to pursue this now?

00:09:34: As study programme

00:09:36: I mean, for me it never really sparked and came to my mind like that.

00:09:40: It was more... So i have an older brother who also studied maths.

00:09:45: Yeah And so when I was finishing school in starting university yeah..I wasn't fully sure of what I wanted to do and thought you know My brother does this and I enjoyed doing it at schools.

00:09:56: Maybe I can switch at some point if its not working.

00:10:01: But then I was on my first semester doing analysis.

00:10:04: I just realized that i was having a lot of fun with it.

00:10:08: And then, uh...I started reading more and at some point I realised this place is the right one for me.

00:10:17: Do you recall what your plan B?

00:10:19: or did you think about any other studies?

00:10:23: Yeah!

00:10:24: So my dad's an engineer so I thought about engineering as well.

00:10:28: It should be quite close to maths.

00:10:30: Yeah, of course when you do quite well in high school I'm not sure what it's like in Germany but in Australia people start suggesting... You think about medicine?

00:10:38: Yeah things like that

00:10:39: exactly.

00:10:41: Completely the same.

00:10:42: yeah.

00:10:42: so i thought about that at some point But I guess in hindsight I am much happier where I am Me too!

00:10:48: Yeah I think was just a situation.

00:10:51: uh..I was in and what people were saying.

00:10:54: We then decided to study.

00:10:55: also close where you grew up, like how close was it?

00:10:58: Where did you grow

00:10:59: up?

00:10:59: I mean literally five or ten minutes down the road from when i went to high school.

00:11:05: In Australia in general its a lot more common to go to university than city or from... until

00:11:12: your life is very urban area in Brisbane.

00:11:14: Yeah my parents are growing up and we live maybe ten-fifteen minutes away from the city centre which might sound quite far In German terms, I'd say in Münster if you live fifteen minutes from the city centre by car.

00:11:29: You're

00:11:29: living on a farm or something but no... ...in Australia cities are much larger.

00:11:35: really.

00:11:35: The population of this country is clustered into few very large cities so it's easy to live maybe an hour from the center.

00:11:46: But was completely clear that you first wanted stay here?

00:11:50: I

00:11:51: mean it wasn't entirely, i would have enjoyed to gone somewhere else but its quite difficult.

00:11:59: Firstly because of our states... To go across the state university is possible.

00:12:06: It's not as clear how to convert the grades.

00:12:10: Oh wow!

00:12:13: Of course we know people who went to a University in different States and im sure that will be very easy.

00:12:19: I mean, when you finish school there's kind of almost an automatic system online where You can put preferences in your state to go To all the universities In that state and then get sent off as.

00:12:31: So it was kinda The most maybe convenient route.

00:12:35: It is also very hard to live out Of home right When you finished school.

00:12:40: Yeah the rental price Like real estate prices are insane Rentals at a high.

00:12:47: And also we finished school at seventeen.

00:12:50: Yeah, I think in Germany it's somewhat similar.

00:12:53: It's quite easy to study anywhere in Germany, like from a bureaucratic point of view.

00:12:57: This is maybe the one thing where Germany isn't so bureaucratic!

00:13:02: But it was an easy path.

00:13:04: always just to study at university... ...from city where you're from because every city has significant universities not like there are only three or four places with big universities.

00:13:17: but I also stayed for my home town for my bachelor degrees the straightforward path.

00:13:23: Are there grants in Germany to live somewhere else when you do university?

00:13:27: I don't think so, they are scholarships...

00:13:30: Yeah yes we're missing that too like a so-you can get scholarships of course and you can get grants from the government for your study costs but there's no grants or living costs.

00:13:43: ah

00:13:43: yeah i think in the UK you can Get Grants From The Government For Your Living Costs.

00:13:49: Okay, but so you just said that already in analysis one you really liked math?

00:13:54: Yeah.

00:13:55: Which is maybe also something special because usually in the first semesters people struggle right.

00:14:01: I mean for me it was very nice.

00:14:02: yeah like i say In high school I always tired and wasn't studying much Because outside of school when had time I wanted to sleep or something.

00:14:13: So then I started university.

00:14:15: I had a lot more time and was really enjoying the subject, so it's where... Yeah!

00:14:20: ...I really started to excel academically And helped as well have my brother who is older.. ..and could talk about maths with him.

00:14:28: He gave me some recommendations for maybe books to read if i wanted to learn something more

00:14:34: Also at the University of Queensland at that point?

00:14:36: Yes he did know exactly.

00:14:39: For Me It Was A Very Nice Period Of Time.

00:14:42: When did you get into geometry, differential geometry?

00:14:46: Yeah

00:14:46: probably already by my second year in university.

00:14:50: In my fourth semester so the end of my second years when I took my first at the curves and surfaces course And that's...I really enjoyed it.

00:14:59: but even before then i guess i'd seen some differential geometry textbooks.

00:15:05: The formulas equations were fascinating to me I think in general, even since high school geometry fascinated me.

00:15:15: As well as when they were talking about vectors In R-III say and sometimes wanted them to be based at the origin or somewhere else And it really bothered me.

00:15:30: It formalized in these differential geometry courses was something I really appreciated and kind of it made me want to learn more.

00:15:38: And then the more I learned, The more I was enjoying it...

00:15:41: Is it common Australia to switch universities from going from your bachelor's to masters?

00:15:46: Was there anything you considered?

00:15:48: For me maybe not within Australia Like I always wanted at the end of my studies to go overseas somewhere.

00:15:57: Yeah, and i think that fact we'd moved to Australia... yeah!

00:16:01: ...I thought it was kind-of normal to move Overseas at some point.

00:16:05: so uh.. It's something I wanted to do.

00:16:08: but for me in the end The reason I stayed this same place For the Masters as My Bachelors Was because most Of my bachelors had been At home.

00:16:16: Because of Covid I felt like I spent Very little time on University campus.

00:16:22: and then in Australia we have these scholarships from the government.

00:16:25: you can get to do a masters, they're fairly easy to apply for.

00:16:30: The professor I wrote my bachelor's thesis with got along very well.

00:16:35: so there were lots of positives.

00:16:38: Yeah, so for me it was a fairly clear choice to stay at the same place and do the masters.

00:16:43: It's very much the same as what I find fascinating but i didn't quite know that in Australia sounds like how you're describing is already early on during your studies.

00:16:53: gain some real research experience?

00:16:56: Yes!

00:16:56: I think its benefit of this system or drawback.

00:17:01: For me, it worked very well because I was passionate and also enjoyed learning things often by myself.

00:17:08: I don't necessarily need to be in a course but yeah certainly you can.

00:17:12: i think our universities are much smaller so if we have more interaction with professors maybe quicker there's lots of opportunities for research projects.

00:17:27: It

00:17:27: is pretty much the same For me and my hometown university, it's also a very small department from the student numbers.

00:17:36: You get really early on to look at what research looks like or how you can talk with professors... ...and they take their time talking about

00:17:44: you!

00:17:44: Yeah that was nice And

00:17:45: I enjoyed that too because this is one of those reasons why i stayed here.

00:17:50: Still probably there were tough periods going between Australia and Europe like leaving all of your social circle behind in some sense, because I mean it's not so easy to travel back and forth.

00:18:04: Yeah It's a bit of pain...it was a little tough..I had the good fortune during my master's that i spent six months here at Moonstar.

00:18:15: So when I left my Social Circle I wasn't going through a place completely unknown.

00:18:22: I'd been in the city.

00:18:23: I knew, I enjoyed it... ...I already knew some people here and had some friends.

00:18:28: but yeah of course It's hard often very weird that sometimes i might want to call a friend In the afternoon And its about three in the morning for them.

00:18:38: Its'a little sad Yeah..and would be much nicer if could go more often.

00:18:42: But just doesn't make sense when you have to fly that

00:18:46: far Because how do you manage to get

00:18:51: away?

00:18:51: Maybe once a year.

00:18:52: Makes sense?

00:18:54: Yeah, I guess with that i'm pretty lucky That I can go once a

00:18:57: yeah and i am happy With it.

00:18:59: Do you think this is like one time thing You want to go abroad for some time And then come back Australia?

00:19:06: Could also imagine you staying here For longer time.

00:19:09: Ah could have imagined me staying Like Australia lots.

00:19:14: of course I enjoy growing up there.

00:19:17: It's very nice place To live but particular plan to move back.

00:19:24: Yeah, I mean it's not something that i say...I don't want to live in Australia but also my goal is ten years and get a permanent position there.

00:19:38: Maybe it's actually just because of the experience you already made as a child which allows us to think so freely about where we live in this world.

00:19:46: Yeah, maybe I guess... It

00:19:48: is very rare!

00:19:49: So far off all what are used during your entire growing up and there still like this free-in-your-mind that you say yeah?

00:19:59: Yeah, it's far off.

00:20:02: I don't know how far of it is but... ...I guess you gain something and lose some being in a different place Like on the one hand your far from friends or what you grew up with But other than that its so different.

00:20:17: here There are lots fun to be had in exploring differences and learning about them.

00:20:23: So why do we enjoy most about Munster?

00:20:26: About Munster!

00:20:27: Firstly accessible like getting around on my bike.

00:20:32: Yeah, it's amazing that pretty much anywhere I want to go in the city i can get there within fifteen minutes.

00:20:37: yeah On my bike maybe in winter It is a little less fun.

00:20:41: but I think In summer this feeling of cycling somewhere in The Sun with My shorts on Is uh...is Amazing!

00:20:50: When you're in A bigger City Like Australia its Much more annoying to have to bike places.

00:20:56: They're much more difficult, I mean they don't make it easy you have to go on the road with cars.

00:21:01: so that i enjoy and also just seeing their history of places in Europe like its amazing.

00:21:07: there's buildings around the city right?

00:21:09: That are several hundred years older than Australia.

00:21:13: It's

00:21:15: interesting.

00:21:15: Something I really never, really appreciate.

00:21:18: but yeah of course.

00:21:19: Yeah yes you don't think about it if you grew up with that.

00:21:21: But so...it is really amazing to see these old buildings.

00:21:26: What do you miss most about Australia?

00:21:28: I mean the beach Of course.

00:21:30: And

00:21:30: imagine North Sea is not comparable Probably to North Sea.

00:21:33: The

00:21:33: North sea is not compatible.

00:21:35: No Unfortunately not In general.

00:21:40: the weather Is much nicer like even in winter.

00:22:05: Now that we've gotten to know Adam, We will come the second part of this podcast.

00:22:09: The so called A or B game.

00:22:12: For this game, which will consist of roughly thirty AOP questions I would ask Adam to answer as quickly as possible in order to get an idea about his intuitive thoughts.

00:22:20: Zero or

00:22:22: one?

00:22:22: One?

00:22:23: Analysis or algebra?

00:22:25: Analysis.

00:22:26: Coffee or tea?

00:22:27: Ah coffee

00:22:28: Beach or mountains?

00:22:30: Beach

00:22:31: Snooze or getting up?

00:22:33: Snoozes

00:22:35: Order or chaos?

00:22:37: Chaos

00:22:38: Summer or winter.

00:22:40: See these ones difficult for me Because I would like to say winter, but when i think of winter it's not the same winter you think.

00:22:48: That is true!

00:22:49: In Münster Summer for sure and in

00:22:51: Australia Winter.

00:22:52: Okay great.

00:22:54: Explicit equations or abstract nonsense?

00:22:57: Abstract nonsense.

00:22:59: Geometry or algebra?

00:23:00: Geometry.

00:23:01: Differential geometry or geometric analysis?

00:23:06: Probably differential geometry

00:23:08: Global or local?

00:23:11: Global

00:23:13: Solve manifolds or Neal manifold?

00:23:16: Neal manifolds.

00:23:18: Existence, or non-existence?

00:23:20: Existance.

00:23:22: Rigidity of symmetry.

00:23:24: I enjoy the rigidity

00:23:27: Compact and noncompact.

00:23:29: I would like to say compact but my research suggests otherwise... ...I'd really enjoyed doing something in a compact case.

00:23:38: Einstein or Ritchie

00:23:41: Einstein I find more interesting.

00:23:45: Green's land or Victoria?

00:23:47: Green's Land?

00:23:48: Easy one!

00:23:50: Oberwollfach on North Stradbroke Island.

00:23:53: No, i guess they have different benefits.

00:23:56: So you can say nature wise and research wise.

00:23:59: Okay Nature... ah this is also very difficult.

00:24:04: I don't know if it's possible for me to answer.

00:24:08: I think

00:24:08: the boat is super beautiful.

00:24:12: Australia or Europe?

00:24:15: Maybe Europe

00:24:15: at the moment.

00:24:17: Blackboard or slides?

00:24:18: Blackboard.

00:24:19: PDF for physical copy?

00:24:21: Physical copy.

00:24:23: Reading or writing?

00:24:24: Reading.

00:24:26: Biking or walking?

00:24:27: Biking!

00:24:28: Mensa Amring and home cooking?

00:24:32: Mensa amring, lunch of course.

00:24:36: Clapping or knocking?

00:24:37: Uh, knocking?

00:24:39: To be or not to be.

00:24:42: Great!

00:24:43: Is that really it?

00:24:44: Perfect.

00:24:45: For the final part of this podcast I will ask you some quick five questions which are maybe not so easy... ...to answer but where.. But i'll still ask you to answer them in like one or two sentences.

00:24:58: Okay ,I will answer as quickly as possible if I'd like to.

00:25:01: yeah

00:25:04: What is your favorite mathematical theorem?

00:25:07: I mean, for me it's the Gauss-Bernet theorem.

00:25:11: Why?

00:25:13: It was my... The thing that first really captured my attention about differential geometry and is so central in kind of such a... I mean its beautiful!

00:25:23: So easily written too.

00:25:25: Which are your results or achievements you're most proud of?

00:25:28: I guess the paper or the preprint at the moment coming from my master's thesis, i'm very proud of because it really felt like...I mean..i had a lot of opportunity to direct by myself.

00:25:40: so feels alot more mine.

00:25:43: And its also impressive that you have a paper on your Master's thesis and its pre-AI

00:25:47: Pre AI?

00:25:49: This is nice yeah!

00:25:51: So maybe I kind of have to ask once like AI or no AI?

00:25:57: So for me, I mean...I guess i would say with AI.

00:26:00: Like yeah if you use it correctly.

00:26:03: in my opinion what's important to me is that I have things I'm interested and want know the answer too.

00:26:10: so If AI can help me ask questions then I am happy about this.

00:26:15: That makes total sense.

00:26:17: Wish mathematical field might be chosen but not your current one.

00:26:22: Yeah, it's hard to say.

00:26:23: I mean algebraic geometry.

00:26:25: I think i could get along with.

00:26:28: That's

00:26:28: rare from a differential geometry?

00:26:30: I wouldn't have expected that.

00:26:32: But yes.

00:26:33: so maybe that or may be pure analysis like bds.

00:26:37: Okay Is there something in your professional life you might've done differently?

00:26:43: Yes It's impossible to say at the moment.

00:26:46: Maybe we'll ask me in ten years.

00:26:49: We see how things end up?

00:26:51: and what advice would you give a student considering mathematics research today?

00:26:55: This question to my justification just got much harder.

00:26:59: It was designed before the whole AI topic on the table, so

00:27:03: I guess... My answer may be more or less the same

00:27:06: like that's good!

00:27:07: You can answer without considering AI.

00:27:10: Yeah but i guess uh.. To me The most important thing is That your interested in maths And you have alot of questions Or a lot curiosity to answer.

00:27:22: I guess, for me that's the most important thing like the amount of maths we do on a daily basis.

00:27:27: if you're not one hundred percent sold on it maybe its'a little bit annoying have to be doing so much.

00:27:33: I

00:27:34: think this is great answer.

00:27:35: being curious

00:27:38: as well with AI helps my thoughts about it alot.

00:27:43: once your just curious and want know the answers then i guess less scary.

00:27:48: Great, thanks

00:27:51: a lot.

00:27:52: No worries!

00:27:55: If you enjoyed the conversation with Adam as much as I did please consider sharing this episode with your friend or colleague.

00:28:02: in the show notes You can also find a link to the video part of my conversation With Adam where he explains the Gauss-Bonnet theorem and differential geometry for The last time of the season.

00:28:12: i'm Carlo And I will catch you on the next tangent.