For a cup of coffee more

First, let me praise another excellent talk by Ayah Almousa; she presented newest work with my friend Anton Dochterman as well as Ben Smith on triangulations of root polytopes and the applications to minimal resolutions. Recall: A free resolution is a way to write a module M as a Matryoshka doll of free modules, that is, as an exact sequence

where the are free (that is, as simple as you could ever want). And whoever tried to ever studies something hard knows how valuable it is to write something in simpler terms. A minimal free resolution is just that, and a root polytope is a polytope whose vertices correspond to the root directions of a Coxeter group. Ayah surveyed how triangulations of the latter are related to resolutions of monomial ideals, and applied this to prove some new results as well as give more insightful proofs to previously known ones. Bravo, Ayah, Anton and Ben! Here is her talk.

Now to more serious business. Real serious.

Recently, a colleague proudly exclaimed how he beat the Malenia, Blade of Miquella in four hours. With two katanas and the mimic tear (personally, I used Tiche and Blasphemous Blade. I think). And it reminded me of how much I value the FromSoft/Atlanta/Lynch/Futurama style of storytelling.

Now I am not talking about the surrealism, the discordordant tones, the dreamlike atmosphere, psychological exploration or even the melodrama, the meandering and vanishing ideas, the dead ends and bad endings, which are superficial notes on their own.

I think instead the beautiful, and in fact relaxing aspect of these stories is that they are, at first, simply a world that one can explore. One can simply let the ideas wash over and wonder at the scenery as if one would marvel at a dream. Only to return to the nonsense later on, and explore it. Or leave it be, and despair at the Orphan of Kos. It is about just going in open into a new world, without the need of understanding everything at first sight. Purely for the joy of exploration of a different mind and world.

This ends up being far more relaxing than the two prevalent styles of storytelling present today, which either hammers you with its message or metaphor into a state of mixed boredom and aggression (see God of War Ragnarok or some Aronofsky movies) or is so self-referential and meaningless that they simply leave the mind immediately (hello MCU). Hence, I sometimes prefer the subtelty of a biblical story to a preachy scientific lecture. The lack of subtlety takes from you the freedom to explore an issue. The self-referential nonsense just makes you not want to.

Or, you know, I could just be fucking with you while doing truffles. Or sick and delirious. Who knows. Either way having a snuggle week in bed.