2000 Kieval Lecture

Real Estate in Hyperbolic Space: Investment Opportunities in the Next Millennium, by Colin Adams.

Colin Adams, the Francis C. Oakley Third Century Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Williams College, gave the Harry S. Kieval Lecture at Cornell Sept. 29. The lecture, "Real Estate in Hyperbolic Space: Investment Opportunities in the Next Millennium," was held in Malott Hall.

Adams explained how our regular geometric notions of things like area are very different in hyperbolic geometry. He did this with a twist. For his informative and humorous and talk, Adams assumed the persona of tacky real estate agent, Mel Slugbate. Mel 'pitched' real estate in hyperbolic space as opposed to the regular Euclidean space, along the way explaining the mathematics of this different geometry. (For instance the area of a circle in hyperbolic space increases exponentially with the radiusthere's more land to buy!)

Adams assumed his role during the reception prior to the lecture, handing his brochures out to the approximately one hundred students and faculty in attendance.