Holidays & calculus

I've just been listening to some of "In Our Time" on BBC Radio 4. The topic under discussion is the battle between Isaac Newton & Leibnitz over who invented calculus. This is a heady topic indeed for someone who can barely remember what calculus is or its purpose & value.

I always find this a strange programme. I'm all for having some intelligent programmes, something intellectually stimulating. So many programmes are just lightly entertaining, & that's no bad thing. I think my real problem with the programme is the timing. These days I'm rarely sufficiently with-it to follow all the arguments. 9am didn't bother me in school & university days, but these days I'm still in the process of waking up. I know the programme is repeated at 9.30pm but by that time I'm relaxing, if not falling asleep again.

I do better when the topic is one that relates more to my own interests. Generally I follow the programme better when it's to do with history, particularly classical Italy or Greece, the Tudors & Stuart times in Britain & Europe, or the 20th century. I also appreciate discussions on literature & art. Theology I'm interested in but don't always follow all the nuances. (There was a recent programme on Thomas Aquinas, for example.) But science & maths is quite a different matter. I end up being grateful that Melvyn Bragg, the leader of the discussion, does remember that some of his audience are ignorant, or at least sketchy on the subject, & bring the experts back to ground as they strive to disappear into the intellectual ether.

Enough of that. As readers of the Fox's blog will know, we're off on our hols today. I was looking forward to it, but now I'm not so sure. It sounded an exciting & lovely area to visit, but I feel I've heard nothing but negativity coming from the Fox for weeks. All he seems focused on is the difficulties. Firstly there's the language. Italian proved not to be the slight variation on French he thought. Yet we managed in the Netherlands without a word of Dutch, armed only with a phrasebook. His researches have made him aware of the amount of crime in the area of Naples. Despite the fact thousands of people go there every year & have a great time, he's convinced we're going to be mugged, robbed or kidnapped. Italian driving doesn't reassure him even though he's driven often in other countries with erratic drivers with no problem. I've got to the stage of almost dreading the holiday. I can't help feeling his negativity is almost sure to make the trip into a disaster. And to add to it, I'm going to be blamed for it. He's already blaming me for the choice of destination despite the fact it was he who first wanted to go to Italy & dismissed the northern lake area & Venice as too touristy!

Well we shall see. But my hopes aren't very high. We're not taking the laptop with us so there probably won't be any more blogs until we're back. I hope all goes well for you all, as well as for us.