Omaha daily bee., 1902-11-02

lA"NAN'H - ~ 90
Brooklyn, is shortly to issue in book form
the result of twenty years of research over
the most abstruse mathematical problems
ever conceived by the mind of man.
This book will look like so much Greek
or Sanskrit even to the man who prides
Ahimself on his knowledge Of algebra and
geometry. When it is given to the math-
ematical world it will be found that, for
the first time, many of the problems that
have deied solution since the days of the
ancient calculator who shouted Eureka
on a certain memorable occasion have been
interpreted logically and correctly by a
man whose pupils include well known col
lege mathematical professors and who has
been consulted by such eminent au hcri-
ties as Prof. Simon Newcomb.
This will be Mr.. Carll's second book.
His first was issued in 1881, after ten years
of study and research. 1t has SOS pages
and is called the Calculus of Variations"
1t is the only book of its kind eXtant and
has been out of print some years, for thcr"
are not many automatically inclined per-
sons who care to wrestle with the varia-
tions, to say nothing of difroronttal and in
tegral calculus, before which the average
mind quails. The demand for the sec
ond book will be even smaller. by
reason of the fact that it will deal exclu-
ElN'lN Will StNtIdl lSOldltu pulllS lldl
Mr.. CARL was unable to make clear in
his first work. But now he said the
other day as he sat in the library of his
Brooklyn home, NOW. after twenty
years of hard and continual work on
these most difficult of all problems, l have
solved them at last. And just think, please,
that in return for all these years Of patient
and delicate research l shall not receive a
cent. My first book netted me $3.50. Two
hundred and fifty dollars for ten years
labor, not a cent for twice ten years toll!
But the fame-ah!"
II was his desire for a reputation, limited
though it might be to a small circle, that
led Mr.. CARL to take up a line of work that
hundreds Of eminent mathematician from
Euclid down either have seduously avoided
or given up in despair as being unsolvable
by them.
D. When Mr.. CARL graduated from Columbia
y university, in 1870, pressing Seth Low. now
mayor of New York, hard for first honors,
he wanted to become a teacher of the
classics. To that end he had worked with
infinite patience in an institution for the
blind and all through his college course.
He first had to have someone read Greek
and Latin to him, then he had to transcribe
the passages by means of the point system
of writing for the blind, then he had to
learn his lessons like any other student.
NJ. Carll's lessons were read to him by
a classmato, who was sent through college
by Mr.. Carlls father in order that he might
be eyes to his son. Most of the reading
was done on the train while the two stu
dents Travelled between the college and Mr..
CarlTs fathers farm at Whitestone, Long
Island, the blind Students companion being
the son of a neighbOring farmer. Then in
the evening Mr.. CARL would study over the
lessons that he had taken down in the point
system of writing. On Saturdays his COM
panion would read to him for six or eight
hours, and in this way Mr.. CARL managed
to keep ahead of his class and do the stipu-
lated amount of outside work.
After he had done all this and thoroughly
equipped himself as a classical scholar he
could secure no pupils who were looking
forward to the degree of B. A.. Instead, all
who came to him at his fathers home
wanted instruction in mathematics.
Naturally" said Mr.. CARL the other day,
IT was sorely disappointed, but I wanted
to be Independent, so l taught mathematics,
in which I had never prided or distinguished
myself. AS time went on more pupils came
to me; l became more interested in mathe-
, matics; I studied its branches as earnestly
and enthusiastically as I had my Latin and
Greek, which now were deserted. PretO
soon, after l had mastered differential and
integral calculus, I found that nobody knew
very much about calculus of variations, eX-
cept that there was such a branch. Then
| said to myself, why don't you find out
something about it, and perhaps, if you do,
you'll gain some fame So, when I could
4 find time between students, I struggled in
= the new field. Now I am known to all
mathematician by my works, but the gen
eral public hasn't heard much about me,
and I never expected 1t would. Still. I feel
that l have done what I set out to do AMI
I am satisfied"
"How have l worked? How have I done
L. ~ Ill .IaHal -