Moonlighting agony uncle Professor Dirichlet answers your personal problems. Want the prof’s help? Send your problems to deardirichlet@chalkdustmagazine.com.
The annual village fete is fast approaching, and every year I embarrass myself at `guess the number of sweets in the jar’. My exasperated wife ends up telling me to just say a number, and I always panic. Last year my guess was $\mathrm{i} – \text{π}$. Maybe I was just hungry.
— Hungry hungry hippo, Gospel Oak
Moonlighting agony uncle Professor Dirichlet answers your personal problems. Want the prof’s help? Send your problems to deardirichlet@chalkdustmagazine.com.
I’ve recently had the good fortune of winning three pigs at the village fete. However, I’m not sure whether my triangular garden is big enough for them as well as my collection of metal, wooden and other deckchairs. The pigs are of substantial size and my tape measure is not long enough to measure the longest side of the garden. I’ve also heard that pigs are very intelligent and would like to hear suggestions for entertaining them.
— Pearl among swine, Lower Brailes
Moonlighting agony uncle Professor Dirichlet answers your personal problems. Want the prof’s help? Send your problems to deardirichlet@chalkdustmagazine.com.
I’ve just started my PhD at a well-known university, and I’m trying to make some friends. There are supposed to be 55 other students but nearly everyone in the PhD office refuses my offers of tea, sits in silence, and will barely talk to me unless I whisper them some very specific technical questions. I was hoping there would be some people in the group who enjoy everyday things: biscuits, beer, and just shooting the breeze. Is this really what academia is like?
— Pearl among swine, Withheld
Moonlighting agony uncle Professor Dirichlet answers your personal problems. Want the prof’s help? Send your problems to deardirichlet@chalkdustmagazine.com.
I personally have a very deep, long-held belief in free-market capitalism and the value of hard work, but I was recently shocked to discover when I switched subjects that most people in my new research area are staunch followers of Karl Marx! I’ve had many arguments with my new colleagues on this. I can feel my energy slowly draining with every passing debate. How do I resolve this?
— Feeling blue, Surreyv
Moonlighting agony uncle Professor Dirichlet answers your personal problems. Want the Prof’s help? Send your problems to deardirichlet@chalkdustmagazine.com.
This year has been a bit tough for us financially, and the only summer holiday we were able to afford was a week camping in the not-so-sunny East Midlands. My work colleagues, however, won’t stop talking about their blissful trips to the beaches of southern Europe. I don’t want to seem jealous but I wish they’d stop chatting about their suntans. How can I move the conversation on?
— Beyond the pale, Selly Oak
Moonlighting agony uncle Professor Dirichlet answers your personal problems. Want the Prof’s help? Send your problems to deardirichlet@chalkdustmagazine.com.
A new colleague at work is deaf, and I’m trying to learn BSL to communicate with her. I have commenced some classes at the local community college, but every time I converse with my hands, she cocks her head to the side.
Is this a social cue I’m missing?
— All thumbs, Royal Leamington Spa
Moonlighting agony uncle Professor Dirichlet answers your personal problems this Valentine’s Day. Want the Prof’s help? Send your problems to deardirichlet@chalkdustmagazine.com.
Need a Dear Dirichlet Valentine’s Day card? We’ve got you covered.
I feel like my fiancé and I are continually going round in circles. Despite living together, the distance from our workplaces means that we’re shattered by the time we get home and, as a product, we get cross. I don’t want to set rigid rules for our careers, but we keep saying that we’re going to find jobs in a new town, and six months later we’re still in the same position. Have you fixed this problem for anybody?
— Uptown girl, White bread world
Moonlighting agony uncle Professor Dirichlet answers your personal problems this Christmastime. Want the Prof’s help? Send your problems to deardirichlet@chalkdustmagazine.com.
My flatmates and I put up our square-shaped artificial Christmas tree last week and decorated it beautifully. However, when I get home from work, I find it on its side on the floor. I think my flatmates are pushing it over but it doesn’t matter how much I shout at them, they insist it’s not their fault. Do you know why this is happening?
— Tinselitus, Glasgow
Moonlighting agony uncle Professor Dirichlet answers your personal problems. Want the Prof’s help? Send your problems to deardirichlet@chalkdustmagazine.com.
My wife and I are having difficulty with her shift times as a Northern line tube driver. We’re always tired when we see each other and I just feel that every point in our relationship ends up leading to an argument. Can you help?
— Complexified, High Barnet
Moonlighting agony uncle Professor Dirichlet answers your personal problems. Want the Prof’s help? Send your problems to deardirichlet@chalkdustmagazine.com.
This week’s problem sheet asks me to show that $\log(x) < x-1$ for all $x > 0$. To me this seems obviously true – a quick sketch backs it up as well. I think I’m supposed to use Taylor series or something but I’m not sure where to start. Can you help?