{"id":6594,"date":"2019-06-12T15:28:05","date_gmt":"2019-06-12T13:28:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cmc.deusto.eus\/enzuazua\/?p=6594"},"modified":"2022-03-21T07:28:22","modified_gmt":"2022-03-21T06:28:22","slug":"sofias-deeper-gaze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cmc.deusto.eus\/enzuazua\/sofias-deeper-gaze\/","title":{"rendered":"Sofia\u2019s deeper gaze"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sofia Kovalevskaya (b. Moscow, 1850,\nd. Stockholm, 1891) was born a century ahead of her time.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But neither this nor her early death prevented her contributions to mathematics from being seminal. The best known of them is the Cauchy \u2013 Kovalevskaya theorem<\/a><\/strong>. She was a disciple of the great Karl Weierstrass<\/a><\/strong> <\/a>(1815-1897), with whom she studied and brilliantly, surprisingly, completed the research undertaken by French mathematician Augustin L. Cauchy<\/strong><\/a> (1789 \u2013 1857). The theorem named after them explains that the equations which describe the chief phenomena of nature \u2013 those governing materials and fluids \u2013 have soft solutions that can be calculated, though the help of computers is required in most cases. It explains the orderly flow of a shallow river and the measured movement of clouds in mild weather conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Subsequently, Hans Lewy<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>(1904 \u2013 1988) constructed mathematical models in which everything was singular and explosive: a sort of fractal minefield. They explain that nature is not always harmonious but can surprise us with earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis. Moreover, Lewy\u2019s construct took no account of the pernicious effect of human beings on imbalances on our planet (climate change, pollution, the destruction of non-renewable resources, etc.), which makes his turbulent models still more credible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We mathematicians have striven ever since to distinguish between scenarios in which smooth, regular behaviour can be predicted and those in which we can expect a catastrophe. And there is still a long way to go before we complete that task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The continued current relevance of Sofia\u2019s work has unarguably earned her a place at the top table with the leading women scientists of all time. She was the first woman to hold a university chair in Europe, at the then recently founded Stockholm University<\/a><\/strong>. Back then, the Scandinavian countries were already example-setters in terms of social models, just as they are today in the field of technological innovation. On arriving in Stockholm she changed her name to Sonia. Like many others before her, she was looking to start afresh, to be herself and encroach on freedoms that were then accessible only to men. To quote the lyrics of Edith Piaf\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> famous No Regrets, \u201cBoth the good and the bad\/ I have flung in the fire\/ And I feel in my heart\/ That the seed has been sown[1]<\/a>\u201d. Sofia, Sonia, also took up literature with some success. Many of those around her were disconcerted at her twin creative output as a mathematician and a writer, to which she is quoted as replying \u201c\u2026the poet has only to perceive that which others do not perceive, to look deeper than others look. And the mathematician must do the same thing<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n