Back to school. I've enrolled in a math(s) class down here at the University of Melbourne - actually, I missed the first week of it while in Japan. The course is graph theory, and work is paying for it. I'm taking it through the Community Access Program, which means I'm not officially a student at the university, but the course could count for credit if I later become one.

It'll be a big time commitment, however I look at it; three hours of courses during the week (during work hours), with two optional practice sessions, plus an extra half hour commute to and from it each time, plus homework and study. I'm a little apprehensive about that, but I've committed, and also managed to convince two coworkers to do it with me (which should actually help).

Why? I'm not doing it to advance my career, actually - I've just had a growing interest in mathematics lately. I've actually decided that the real appeal of my chosen profession in computers is only the extent to which it relates to mathematics, and so I've been reading a fair bit about recent mathematical discoveries and fundamentals. They say it used to be possible to know "all" of mathematics, but that this is now no longer achievable - so much has been done now that a human brain could not contain it all. This is a relief, really, as it takes the pressure off. But I'm setting my sights not on learning what has been done so far, but on actually contributing something new and original. Honestly I don't know if I have the ability - certainly I am not one of those naturally gifted geniuses that have contributed so much to mathematics - but I think if I apply myself, I may be able to make a small contribution to a tiny corner of an obscure mathematical subfield, and that by itself would satisfy me.