{"id":198,"date":"2021-07-02T14:32:21","date_gmt":"2021-07-02T12:32:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/matematika.mathematiquesvagabondes.fr\/?p=198"},"modified":"2021-07-21T18:31:06","modified_gmt":"2021-07-21T16:31:06","slug":"far-east-mathematics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/matematika.mathematiquesvagabondes.fr\/2021\/07\/02\/far-east-mathematics\/","title":{"rendered":"Far East Mathematics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Flying into tomorrow.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The night plane from Moscow to Khabarovsk. Distance to fly is over one fifth of the Earth circumference: Khabarovsk is five times closer to Tokyo than it is to Moscow. We leave at 21 pm, the flight lasts close to 8 hours. Arrival is scheduled at 11 AM in the morning, local time: we are flying into tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Flight<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In the plane, an old lady sitting next to me showed me a video of an ice tsunami on Amur this April. Grandiose blocks of ice pushed to the riverside bank of Khabarovsk by a river cracking open, breaking the steel fencing as if it were made from cardboard. The strengths of a wild animal and of a human meet on the same scale. The 4444 km Far East river laughs off any comparison to anything human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Welcome to Khabarovsk<\/strong>!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The plane landed. Maria is already waiting for us. She has a yellow mask covering half of her face but her eyes are smiling. Such a contrast with other faces in the arrival hall of the airport. Serious expressions, sealed lips. Maria is one of the few people wearing a mask here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A driver of the Mathematical Institute picks us up, his seat is on the right: Japanese cars are cheaper here. In the car, Maria warns us — it’s midges season. These are annoying small flies will try to bite you or get into your eyes. Some Khabarovsk inhabitants buy sprays, some spread diluted vanilla powder on their face, some play hard-core and ignore the midges, as our driver, she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Big Fish.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Morning of the 2nd July, our first full day in Khabarovsk. Maria organized for us an excursion to the Grodekov’s Museum of Khabarovsk local history. The first floor of the museum is dedicated to installations of Amur’s bassin landscapes. They are filled with stuffed and sculpted representations of truly magical animals that live nearby, and in Amur River. The most famous is arguably a kaluga fish. Represented right after its adolescence, it is already bigger than a stuffed brown bear humbly staring at it from the next showcase. Some kalugas reach 1 ton but normal size in adult age is only <\/em>600 kg (1300 pounds), says our guide, a small woman with a wooden pointer. She cites the archives and recent research on wild kabarga dears (white ones were recently discovered!). She is of that calibre of museum guides, those who never give the same tour twice. A wooden pointer in her hands resembles a magic wand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n