Sandy
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
While reading a book about math errors my mind kept turning toward Prof. Vorthys and "engineering failure analysis". In many cases you likely don't have or need specific math details in stories. But I am aware many folks are math-phobic. Does that ever motivate you to slide over mathmatical details? I also wondered if you ever find math fun and creative in itself or is it more a means to an end?
Lois McMaster Bujold
I am not a math person, tho' I did get up to differential calculus, decades ago in college. Long forgotten now. I do like the pictures/graphs generated by math -- those, I find intuitively illuminating. I only do or consult on math to get time-speed-distance and suchlike calculations in my tales not-wrong, within the bounds of the possible. This is as important for horses as it is for spaceships.
Ta, L.
I am not a math person, tho' I did get up to differential calculus, decades ago in college. Long forgotten now. I do like the pictures/graphs generated by math -- those, I find intuitively illuminating. I only do or consult on math to get time-speed-distance and suchlike calculations in my tales not-wrong, within the bounds of the possible. This is as important for horses as it is for spaceships.
Ta, L.
More Answered Questions
Jessica
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
My dad introduced me to your work 20 years ago, when I was a preteen, and it’s been a very important part of my life-thank you! In Memory I’m always struck by the idea that questions don’t change, just the answers, and my yearly rumination on that thought represents emotional tree rings. How has your response to your own work changed over time?
Sybal Janssen
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
There are four writers that I reread and reread because their use of language sparkles for me in a special way. Those four are yourself, Patrick O'Brian, Terry Pratchett, and Vladimir Nabokov. In general would you say that your sentences just flow while you are engaged with the imagination, or do you spend a lot of time reworking your sentences to strike the exact note? LOL probably a question with no answer.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more