The Revolutionary Implications of A.A. Markov’s Essay on the Alternation of Letters in Pushkin’s Poem
‘Evgenij Onegin’

Vladmir A. Uspenskiy

Department of Mathematical Logic and Theory of Algorithms
Moscow University

Date: Friday, April 23, 2004
Place: Webb Hall, Room 1100
Time: 4:00 pm — 5:00 pm (Refreshments served at 3:30 pm)

Abstract:
The lecture addresses path-breaking work of the Russian mathematician A. A. Markov Sr. ("Markov chains") in the area of local dependency of random variables. The samples Markov used for his research were taken from A. S. Pushkin's famous poem “Evgenij Onegin” and other central texts from classical Russian literature. Prof. Uspenskiy's lecture addresses ways in which Markov's work on probability may be relevant not only for mathematicians, statisticians, and engineers, but also for scholars in the humanities.

Biography:
Vladimir Uspenskiy was born in Moscow in 1930. A student of the eminent Russian mathematician Kolmogorov, Uspenskiy has been on the faculty of Moscow State University since 1966. He has been head of the Institute for Mathematical Logic and the Theory of Algorithms at Moscow State University since 1993. Professor Uspenskiy's main contributions are in the fields of Mathematical logic, theory of algorithms, theory of Kolmogorov complexity, and the foundations of mathematics and other areas.

Hosts:
Sven Spieker, Professor of German, Slavic, and Semitic Studies
George Legrady, Professor of Art Studio and Media Arts & Technology