Supposedly, the Riemann Hypothesis has been solved. A professor from Purdue has claimed to slove it. No word yet if anyone else has confirmed it.
This will be much more important to mathematics than the proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem was.
With all this Reagan stuff going on, I have to chime in on some other issues.
I’m a firm believer that the President (the office, not any particular one) doesn’t matter nearly as much as people think. People tend to attribute things to presidents that for the most part, they have no control over one way or another. Unemployment, inflation, crime, education, etc. Really. There is next to nothing the president can do to influence these things so long as they keep to certain parameters, which most presidents have to.
The recent recession wasn’t Bush’s fault, and it wasn’t Clinton’s fault. You can score some political points I guess in trying to assign blame, but it really is missing the root cause. A few punctuation changes, and the 1992 Clinton campaign slogan is much more accurate; “Its the economy? Stupid!”.
What are the root causes to most of the domestic things that people blame/applaud presidents for? Demographics, technology, and social trends. They usual effect each other as well. I’m sure you can think of examples using the Internet. These trends dwarf most any fiscal policy.
All that being said, while presidents are often give far more credit/blame than they deserve, they are not impotent, especially in the area of foreign policy. Foreign policy is one area where the personality of a president can make a lasting mark. There are certainly global trends that effect alliances and such, but things like wars and treaties are uniquely creations of the people that wage them.
It should come as no surprise that the presidents we view as being the “greatest” presidents usually were presidents during a time of war. Even Clinton at the end of his administration wished that there was some war or great event that had happened during his administration. Presidents have “greatness” thrust upon them. (I put greatness in quotes because I’m not the one claiming they’re great). Its one reason why there is so much outpouring of feelings for Reagan now.
So, temper your love/hatred for Ronald Reagan. Most of the things in the 80’s would have happened with or without him. If you want to place your love/hate on one person for the economy of the 80’s (and since) your man is Paul Volker.
Lets take presidents off our money while we’re at it.
In the process of surfing the Reagan funeral, I learned a bunch of stuff:
When a ship of the Navy is passing Washington’s tomb, Mount Vernon, Virginia, between sunrise and sunset, the following ceremonies shall be observed insofar as may be practicable: The full guard and band shall be paraded, the bell tolled, and the national ensign half-masted at the beginning of the tolling of the bell. When opposite Washington’s tomb, the guard shall present arms, persons on deck shall salute, facing in the direction of the tomb, and “Taps” shall be sounded. The national ensign shall be two-blocked and the tolling shall cease at the last note of “Taps,” after which the national anthem shall be played. Upon completion of the national anthem, “Carry on” shall be sounded. (Art. 2185, U.S. Navy Regs., 1948)
Some people never learn.
We tend to treat the president as royalty. Not having a king ourselves, we bestow upon the president many of the honors a monarchy would bestow upon a king.
The president is the head of state in addition to being the head of government. Its a subtle distinction and one we don’t normally make in the US, but it is a distinction. For example, in the UK, the Prime Minister is the head of government, but the Queen is the head of state. In some countries, they have an elected President who is the head of state, and a prime minister who is the head of government.
So Reagan is getting a state funeral, which in most countries would be reserved for royalty. Nixon didn’t get a state funeral when he died, but he could have if the family wanted to. LBJ was the last person to have a state funeral, and other than Nixon, the last president to die.
Intellectually, I’m lothe to treat the president like a king. Personally, I really want to watch the funeral. I do enjoy watching the pomp and circumstance. I’ve always said that I’d like to go to Rome when the Pope dies. They is a 70mm movie from the 60s that has some great scenes of the papal succession ceremonies “The Shoes of the Fisherman” starring Anthony Quinn.
Trivia: Here is a list of presidents going backwards in the order they died: