The review of Adrian Duncan’s The Geometer Lobachevsky (Life & Arts, April 30) had me humming the classic 1953 song “Lobachevsky” by satirist Tom Lehrer: “Who made me the genius I am today/The mathematician that others all quote?/Who’s the professor that made me that way/The greatest that ever got chalk on his coat?/One man deserves the credit,/One man deserves the blame,/And Nicolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky is his name. Oy!”
Lehrer’s songs are timeless genius. “Pollution”, “Send the Marines”, “Who’s Next”, “We Will All Go Together When We Go” are as worryingly relevant today as they were when written, more than 50 years ago.
Andrew Vigar
Singapore
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