EUROPT

There is a logic behind the annual EUROPT conference being held in Montréal, but I won't go into it! From the delegate list I'd hoped the first day would be more interesting. I went to four good talks, but the ones relevant to me were given by a colleague and his co-worker. There's always an unexpected gem, and today it was a talk about the best way to pack tubes of different diameters into a lorry [see extra] which is the same as packing rings of different diameters into a rectangle. However, like the way grocers pack oranges - which took Mathematicians ages to prove was the best strategy - those who do it for a living probably have the best approach.

I almost took a photo of the many delegates working at their laptops when I came out of the first afternoon session. It does beg the question of why we go to conferences - at considerable expense. But not to do so denies one's work a platform and the opportunity for valuable chance encounters. Some people could make more effort to secure the latter, though.

Tomorrow should be better, and not just because I give my talk so may have people to talk to.