Math - - USMA - - II. [Conclusion]

This is coolbert:

Here are some persons, graduates of the USMA, West Point, who were outstanding mathematicians. Surprisingly so in some instances. As cadets excelled at math to such a degree that they were recognized as being worthy of consideration for appointment as an instructor. Military officers, proficient at mathematics, each and everyone of them reaching a very high level of command and authority during their military career. Greatly accomplished persons with a high intellect, as demonstrated by their proficiency at math.

[persons displaying proficiency at math can be said to have a high intellect??!! This is so??!!]

1. U.S. Grant.

"Ulysses S Grant wrote that he had hoped to take a position as a math instructor at West Point before the Civil War changed his plans."

Consider also, this particular quote attributed to Grant:

"'If men make war in slavish obedience to rules, they will fail.'”

In this particular instance, Grant is referring to [??] the Jomini book, "The Art of War", as carried and read by senior military officers of the period. A book, written by Jomini in the aftermath of the Napoleonic era wars, that was the source, the be-all and end-all, for tactics, operational art, strategy, etc., as practiced during the American Civil War era. A treatise by Jomini that explained warfare in terms and using rules that were thought to be subject to mathematical description and explanation!! BUT NOT VALID GIVEN THE WEAPONRY USED DURING THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR!!

2. Thomas Jackson.

"Stonewall" Jackson, the Confederate General, was a Professor of Mathematics at VMI.

The Virginia Military Institute [VMI] is one of only a few schools [Norwich, USMA, Citadel, Texas A&M, VMI] that can offer a graduate a REGULAR military commission. Such a prestigious commission is highly sought after by those seeking a military career.

3. John Jacob Pershing.

"Pershing had also taught military tactics and mathematics at the University of Nebraska [1890's] and earned a law degree there."

"Lt. John J. Pershing, on detached service from the U.S. Army to the University of Nebraska in the early 1890s, taught remedial mathematics to undergraduate Willa Cather. During his stint at the university, Pershing studied the law."

Even while a junior officer, as a military science officer and an instructor of mathematics, Pershing "rubbed elbows" with persons of prominence and stature - - highly regarded!! American elites. Persons such as:

* Willa Cather. Prominent American author.

* Roscoe Pound. Prominent American legal scholar.

* William Jennings Bryan. American politician, orator, fighter for "causes"!

4. Omar Bradley.

"In September 1920 Bradley began a four-year tour of duty as an instructor of mathematics at West Point . . . Bradley believed [the studying of mathematics] stimulated one's powers of reasoning"

AGAIN - - NOT ONLY THE POWERS OF REASONING ARE STIMULATED - - BUT A CURRICULUM OF MATHEMATICS, RIGOROUS - - HAS A DEFINITE DARWINIAN SELECTION PROCESS ABOUT IT. SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST, ONLY THOSE OF INTELLECTUAL ABILITY WITH GUMPTION SURVIVING!!

5. Leslie Groves. General officer and head of the Manhattan Project. Was chosen for his engineering ability, mathematical skill, organization and managerial ability. AND WAS A MAN WHOSE MATHEMATICAL PROFICIENCY ALLOWED HIM TO CONVERSE IN A COGENT MANNER WITH NUCLEAR, ATOMIC, AND THEORETICAL PHYSICISTS OF THE HIGHEST CALIBER, AND DO SO IN A CASUAL AND UNDERSTANDABLE WAY. EVEN TO THE EXTENT OF CORRECTING ON ONE OCCASION, THE MATHEMATICAL CALCULATIONS OF AN EMINENT PHYSICIST!!!

coolbert.