Irving P. Herman's Personal Website | Personal musings, insights, and opinions

This is the non-professional site of Irving P. Herman. It contains occasional insightful musings and postings. You can reach each page from this main page. Most other pages function as blogs; the date of the last update is given on this page. The “Coming Home to Math” page is new. It includes a continually-updated set of questions and answers for my recent quasi-popular book with that title, meant for adults who want to start “thinking math.” My book and these problems often focus on real-world situations and culture. Other recent updates include new jokes (humor page), a funny book (reviews), a political possibility and four weddings and a funeral thoughts (Iighter thoughts), and thoughts on Harper Lee, JFK, and about my favorite children’s book, Mother, Mother I Want Another by Maria Polushkin (heavier thoughts). (The most recent update of at least one page was 8/13/24.)

Those on smartphones can navigate to the other pages by clicking on the following:

You are welcome to visit my professional site http://www.columbia.edu/~iph1 for information on my more serious activities (research and teaching activities, papers and books, seminars and mini case scenarios in ethics (responsible conduct of research and professionalism), and a virtual time capsule interrelating events in the first 15 decades of the Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science with those in New York City at seas150.columbia.edu/multimedia), though many question whether these are indeed serious efforts. There is some more light-hearted fare concerning my research and the American Presidency at http://www.columbia.edu/~iph1/hermanPresidency.html and how my career may have been influenced by Superman at http://www.columbia.edu/~iph1/Download/Dr. Abner Sedgwick-for IPH website-newest-again2.pdf. Several of these are also presented here in http:/www.irvingpherman.com/professional/. Presentations on teaching research and professional ethics and on outreach to high school students are also presented at my professional site and here. My next-to-most recent book is described on www.facebook.com/PhysicsOfTheHumanBody.

My recent book, Coming Home to Math, meant for adults who think they dislike math or are no good at it is described at http://www.facebook.com/Coming-Home-to-Math-106010094462401/. This is a semi-popular book without problems; problems (and solutions) meant to advance math thinking and the use of math in our lives have been added to a page on this site http://www.irvingpherman.com/coming-home-to-math/, along with answers. These questions are continually updated.

You may ask “Why Liverwurst?”. Well, it rhymes with Bensonhurst, the neighborhood in Brooklyn of my infancy and childhood. (I was born in a hospital that is technically in Boro Park. Said birth was nine days before (and the bris was one day before) Rocky Marciano (rising up the heavyweight ranks) beat Joe Louis (sadly, then plummeting in the heavyweight ranks) in the then Madison Square Garden. I do not recall attending this event.) It also reminds me of the song parody by Allan Sherman, an early influence, “Don’t Buy the Liverwurst”. (“… But that big hunk of liverwurst, Has been there since October First, And today is the Twenty-Third of May, So when you go to the delicatessen store, Don’t buy the liverwurst, Don’t buy the liverwurst, Don’t buy the liverwurst. …”)