Question: What do you do?

Jacob Leygonie answered on 9 Nov 2019:

Hi !

This is a hard question, since it could mean 1) “what do you do now?”, 2) “what do you do these days?” or 3) “what do you do on the long term?”; I will provide answers for those 3, but don’t hesitate to ask more.

1) Now I am hosting my best friend (from France) in Oxford, for one week. I show him the city, the nice colleges and gardens, the museums, the pubs and the research department. It is funny how it seems hard for him to understand British people. He says “Bonjour” instead of “Hello” and “Merci” instead of “Thank you”. This puts us in strange situations sometimes.

2) Here is my typical day this week: waking up at 8AM, working in a coffee shop in the morning (with a nice breakfast) on my computer. Attending a few seminars on really interesting mathematical topics. Then working in my office during the afternoon, or with friends. Then having diner and walking around in the city with friends.

3) I just finished a big research project that took me one year or so. I am now in this position where I need to find a new compelling question. It is an exciting time: you get to discuss with people about as many topics as you want, reading books and articles to improve your knowledge, and try to understand what problems out there deserve to be solved.