Floor e?

by Brian Hayes

Published 7 January 2011

At most conferences, the sign above might provoke a moment of puzzlement. But this is the JMM, the Joint Mathematics Meetings, being held this year in New Orleans. As far as I can tell, the 5,400 mathematicians gathered here are quite untroubled by these instructions. And after all, they know perfectly well that a whole uncountable continuum lies between floors 2 and 3.

Onward and upward, indeed. And downward. And everything in between.

 

 

Responses from readers:

• A comment from Frank Ch. Eigler, 7 January 2011 at 4:21 pm

  The typeface and the slogan reminded me of IBM corporate meetings.

• A comment from Sam Hobbs, 15 January 2011 at 1:39 pm

  I hate to be on the practical side (especially since Brian has always commented on the continuum), but the sign might have been on a mezzanine floor between floors 2 and 3.

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Tags for this article: mathematics.

Publication history

First publication: 7 January 2011

Converted to Eleventy framework: 22 April 2025