Why the links about Settlers of Catan? How is it related to Math and Logic?

Some of you may wonder why I have links about Settlers of Catan or even why I have links to games at all. First, most games I play that are formal board games or card games are essentially large mathematical problems in probability. Some might say, “All games are like that, that is all board games or card games are essentially large mathematical problems in probability.” To that statement I must yield, but I say games like Settlers of Catan are much more complex and the game play, especially online, makes one a better player. To get more info about this game go to www.s3dconnector.net .

A little about me...

I am male. I am newly married. I graduated from BIG STATE FLAGSHIP U in May of 2005 with a degree in Philosophy and Linguistics specializing in Mathematical Logic. My interests are my wife (of course), God, my work, learning Unix scripting, politics, physics, and of course math and logic.

My wife is a graduate of LITTLE PRIVATE U in May 2006 with a degree in Mathematics. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Mathematics at ANOTHER BIG STATE U (note: not the same as BIG STATE FLAGSHIP U) but similar in student body size and campus layout.

Our goal as a couple is to both eventually have PhDs, math for her, physics or logic for me, and be tenured at major institutions (preferably at the same institution). For now, she is going to graduate school and I am working fulltime. We recently moved into an apartment much larger than our last and have since adopted a young kitten which we have named Smoke. Smoke is very hyper, as most kittens are, but he causes problems because he sleeps in the same room we do, except he sleeps much less than we do and attacks us while we sleep.

I work a shift most would turn their noses to (the graveyard shift) but my hope is that working the shift will give me exposure to groups most people in my formal division would not normally have access to. Moreover, my hope is that working the shift will allow me to be promoted later on.

My work involves me spending much of my time interacting with legacy HP Unix software on outdated HP Servers. Thus, I try to pick up on Unix scripting through that aspect of my work.

When I find time to use the degrees I received, I spend time either analyzing languages and their structure and/or meaning or pondering questions about the very reality in which we believe we exist, (i.e.: the physics of how the universe operates – general and special relativity, quantum physics, and string theory). I also spend time analyzing theorems and questions of mathematics and logic. Moreover, I spend time attempting to integrate theories of physics, math and logic.

And to that end – me spending my time attempting to integrate theories of physics, math and logic – leads me here to provide an open forum into my most abstract thoughts.