Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-01
FAMOUS AND BLIND
A Great Mathematician
Known the World Over.
PONDER OF CLASSICS
BUT ALL HIS PUPILS WANTED TO
STUDY MATHEMATICS.
How He Climbed the Hill of Knowl-
edge and Acquired His Won
derful Skill.
PONDER OF CLASSICS

| derful Skill.
Copyright. 1902. by Henry Alston)
| Written for The Evening Star
stone blind from his birth, but notwith-
standing this great handicap a world recog-
nlzed authority on the so-called higher ma
| thematics. Lewis B. CARL Of Brooklyn is
shortly to issue in book form the result of
| twenty years of research over the most abb
struse mathematical problems ever con-
| ceived by the mind of man.
Thls book will look like so much Greek or
| Sanskrlt even to the man who prides him
self on his knowledge Of algebra and geom-
| etry. When 1t Is given to the mathema teal
world 1t will be found that for the first
time' many OF the problems that have de-
ned solution since the days of the ancient
calculator who shouted Eureka" on a
certain memorable occasion have been in
terpreted logically and correctly by a man
whose pupils include well-known college
mathematical professors and who has been
| consulted by such eminent authorities as
/ Prof. Simon Newcomb.
| Inls Will be Mr.. Carlls second book His
nrst was issued in 1881. after ten years of
STUDY and research. 1t has 56s pages and
Is called Calculus Of Variations" It is
| the only book of it's kind extant and has
been out OF print some years, for there are
not many Mechanically inclined persons
VINO care 10 wrestie with the variations, to
say nothing Of differential and integral cal
culus, before which the average mind
quails. The demand for the second book
VIII VIII De even s, smaller. by reason of the fact
isolated points that Mr. Carl was unable to
| make clear In his first work But now"
| ne said the other day as he sat in the
library OF his BROOKLYN home, now. after
| twenty years of hard and continued work
on these most difficult of all problems. I
| nave solved them at last. And lust think,
| please, that in return for all these wears of
| patient and delicate research 1 shall not
receive cent My first book netted me
sSO. Two hundred and fifty dollars for
| ten years labor, not a cent for twice ten
years toll! But the fame-ah"'
Mathematics Forced on Him,
1t was his desire for reputation, limited
though 1t might be to a small circle. that
LED Mr. CARL to take up a line of work that
hundreds OF eminent mathema ticians from
Euclid down either have sedulously avoided
or given up in despair as being unsoIvable
by them.
When Mr.. CARL graduated from Column
pa University, In 1870. pressing Seth Low,
hoLors. he wanted to become a teacher of
the classics. To that end he had worked
with infinite patience in an institution for
the oilnd and all through his college course.
He first had to have some one read Greek
and Latin to him, then he had to TRANSCRIPTS
the passages by means of the point system
OF writing for the blind, then he had to
learn nus lessons like any other student
Mr.. CarlPs lessons were read to hin, nv
classmate, who was sent through college
by Mr.. CarIl's father in order that he
might be eyes to his son. Most of the
Ieading was done on the train while the
two students travelled between the college
and Mr. Carll's fathers farm at WHITE
stone, Long Island, the blind students
companion being the son Of a neighboring
Larmer. Ihen In the evening Mr.. CARL
would study over the lessons that he had
taken down in the point system of writing
On Saturdays his companion would read to
MIN for six or eight hours, and in this Way
MI earn managed to keep ahead of his
class and do the stipulated amount of ont
side work.
After he had done all this and Thoroughly
equipped himself as classical scholar he
toulu secure no pupils who were looking
forward to the degree Of B. A. Instead ali
Who came to him at his fathers home
wanted instruction In mathematics.
Had to Be Mathematician.
Naturally" said Mr. CARL the other dav
L was sorely disappointed. but wanted to
be Independent, SO I taught mathematics.
In which had never prided or distinguished
myself. AS time went on more pupils came
TO me; l became more interested In mathe
mates; L studied its branches as earnestly
and enthusiastically as had my Latin and
Greek, which now were deserted. Pretty
soon, after had mastered difrerentiaI AVID
integral calculus, found that nohodv knauy
very much about calculus of varia tons er
cept that there was such branch Then
said to myself: Why don't you find out
something about it, and perhaps, IL YOU do.
you'll gain some fame So, when I couid
find time between students I struggled IN
the new field. Now 1 am known to all
mathematicians by my works. but the gen
eral public hasn't heard much about me.
and I never expected 1t would sim, I feel
that have done what 1 set out to do and
am satisfied"
- -. How have I worked? How have I done
tie face. "Ah, 1t is long story. but IF vo,
want to know, I'll tell you.
well, when I began to look I'D the sub
1ect OF calculus of variations 1 found, to
my afnazement. that only one book on the
subject ever had been published In the Eng
lish language It had appeared in 1851. and
was from the pen of Prof. John H. JeIIet
OF the University or Dublin. But, try as
hard as could in this country and Europe,
L could not secure a copy of it. The hook
seemed to have disappeared
There was nothing left for me to do ex-
terial from all sorts of sources here and
abroad. so l set to work in earnest New
Yorks libraries possessed at that tins
scarcely any of the books that I needed in
i c0mna}ldd
to send out postal cards to the libra Res at
Yale and Harvard and In Europe. asking n
they had certain mathematical books and
Journals When they replied in the afirma- |
tive then asked for the loan Of the hooks
and papers the officials of Columbia IIni
versity guaranteeing the libraries that r |
would take good care of their precious and
rare documents. In this way I secured nv |
necessary working data This took. ali |
told. about three years.
Solved s3In the Head.n
"But after had the books how couJd |
make use of them, you will ask Well. my
brothers, and one in particular, Addison. |
were very good to me. trained them how
to read mathematics. and once every two or
three days I'd get one of them to read for
about five minutes to me. If the book were
In foreign tongue. as often 1t was, I had
hrst to translate it. Then I'd tell him to |
stop, after which I'd lock myself In INV
room, and while pacing up and down the
noor think over, arrange and rearrange
hundreds of times and apply to the prob
lens l had in mind the matter that had |
been read to me- Sometimes 1t would take
me a week to secure a complete under |
standing of the few lines that I had lis |
tened to. After l had grasped 1t all !
would have Addison read another short |
passage, and once more I'd lock myself I'D |
and think. In this way I worked out my |
first book. and my second except that in