Świerczkowski's Autobiography Looking Astern
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Looking Astern THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF Stanisław Świerczkowski _____________________________________________________________________ Copyright © by Stanisław (Stash) Świerczkowski, 2015 Photos copyright © by Stanisław Świerczkowski Cover design: Daniel Apt (based on a photo of the author) Published privately _____________________________________________________________________ III Editors' Note Stanisław Świerczkowski was a prominent Polish mathematician who led a remarkable life on several continents. He passed away 30 September 2015 in Hobart, Tasmania. This book is the final version of his autobiography that was found by his family on his computer after his death. On page 3 it mentions "Hobart, Tasmania, May 2014". Earlier versions were circulated by the author privately. The following changes were made in the manuscript by the editors. - A cover was added. - The book contents was augmented by three entries: Academic Appointments 193 Mathematical Publications 194 Index of Names 198 - The author’s remark ``Publications see http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=swierczkowski&hl=en&as_sdt=0'' on page 192 was replaced by the list of publications taken from the MathSciNet and arranged chronologically. - The remark ``(page numbers will be added later)'' after Index of Names on page 198 was removed and the Index was completed by the editors using for this purpose an existing index available in an earlier version of the book. - At the end of the manuscript 45 photos were added. They constituted a separate file. These photos were included in an earlier version of the book. Editors: Krzysztof R. Apt, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Victor Marek, Lexington, KY, USA 1 _____________________________________________________________________ Contents Foreword 3 1. Earliest Memories 4 2.The war begins 9 3. In German-occupied Poland 14 4.The Russians are coming 22 5. In post-war Poland 26 6. Becoming a Mathematician 33 7. Polish Adventures 39 8. Scotland: A Taste of Freedom 45 9. Farewell to Poland 54 10. A Marriage on the Rocks 60 11. In and out of the USA and Australia 68 12. In England and India 72 13. Second Visit to Australia 76 14. Mountaineering in New Zealand 81 15. In Papua New Guinea 86 16. In Canada 90 17. Yacht Building in Holland 94 18. The Construction slows down 98 19. Amsterdam Days 103 20. Guru Maharaji (Prem Rawat) 111 21. Good-bye to Holland 117 22. Out at Sea 121 23. Plans go Overboard 127 24. In the Harbours of Tenerife 132 25. Sailing Adventures 141 26. Parting with Ananda 150 27. At Sultan Qaboos University 155 28. Life in the Sultanate 162 29. Among Expatriates 168 30. In Poland and the USA 175 31. Farewell to the USA 181 2 _____________________________________________________________________ 32. Postscript: Theorems only 185 Academic Appointments 193 Mathematical Publications 194 Index of Names 198 3 _____________________________________________________________________ Foreword My story is not one of continued success and it is even possible that I have suffered a greater than average number of vicissitudes and personal losses. Yet these were counter-balanced by a few strokes of enormous luck. Thus, I was granted survival in some life-threatening situations – in caves, on mountains, or at sea – and I had the privilege of solving occasionally a research problem in mathematics. This enabled me to leave at an early age the communist-dominated existence in Poland and to earn my money by working at many universities and scientific institutes. I became a mathematician due to an accidental combination of circumstances and I never felt comfortable in that profession. Accordingly, I often escaped into adventures of other sorts. To them I devote most of this memoir. My main escape, intended to be the final one, occurred after 18 years of my mathematical career: I constructed a large sailing yacht, hoping to spend the rest of my life cruising the oceans. I have included here some mathematical tales, perhaps just enough to allow the interested reader to get an idea of the kind of problems that could occupy a mathematician’s mind. To distinguish these parts from the rest, I have written them in a slightly different font. The vast majority of people would like to live in harmony with each other. However, unless we able to imagine how others feel and think, problems are likely to occur that make harmony very difficult to achieve. So, to begin with, it may be a good idea to tell each other how we travelled through the years. Hobart, Tasmania, May 2014 S.Ś. 4 _____________________________________________________________________ Between the banks of pain and pleasure flows the river of life. Happiness is incidental. The true and effective motive is love. You need not learn to love for you are love itself – when you are not afraid. From I Am That by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj ☼ 1. Earliest memories The town of my birth, Toruń, in northern Poland, is the one where the great medieval astronomer Nicolas Copernicus entered his earthly existence. And the first years of my life coincided with those of Adolf Hitler consolidating his power a couple of hundred miles to the west. However at that time we were still beyond the range of his appetites. Just after I was born, Mother still partially under anaesthesia, had a curious dream. God and the Devil were playing chess and the winner would take her child’s soul. Suddenly, the game came to a halt – it seemed God will lose. But no, He made one last move and won. This was a rather peculiar dream because my mother thought the Devil to be just an invention of theologians and, as far as I know, she prayed to God only in times of great anguish. My earliest memories are those of sitting quietly, alone in a large bright yellow painted room with almost no furniture. Hours were going by. Days, perhaps years, passed like this. Mostly, small children cannot bear long periods of inactivity, but for me this solitary lifestyle was the norm. Our maid was usually in the kitchen at the other end of our spacious apartment. Occasionally she had a visitor and I could hear voices. When I called her she would come and take me to the toilet, and then she would return to the kitchen. Sometimes my mother would be at home, dressed beautifully, and smelling of exquisite perfume. My wonderful mother. However, she never stayed for long. Occasionally she gave a party, and through closed doors I could hear many people 5 _____________________________________________________________________ coming and going, chatting and laughing. I always waited for my mother and I hoped she would come soon. A holiday memory. I am carried up to the top of a mountain, and the grownups turn my attention to an aeroplane. The plane is flying below us. I find this utterly strange. I realise that no child in our faraway city in the lowlands has ever been above a flying plane. I learnt to speak at the usual age but I spoke extremely slowly. My mother was frustrated and worried that I was abnormal. I had an answer to every question, often guessing the meaning when I did not understand it fully. For example, if someone asked me, “How are things going?” I would answer slowly and after deliberation, “Tired horses are going slowly.” My mother employed an endless stream of maids, one after another. I guess she was putting high demands on these women, or perhaps high-quality maids were hard to find. Only one seemed to be very good, and I have memories of her pulling me on my sleigh through the snowy streets and parks of our town. I do not know why she left. In any case, it was another maid who once asked me to wait for her outside a house where she called for a visit. To her excuse, it should be said that this house was next to a park and I had to wait in a lane with plenty of people passing but no motor or horse traffic. After a while I got bored, and when two soldiers asked me if I was lost, I lied blatantly that I was. I must have been about five then and I certainly didn’t have enough knowledge of the town to find my way home. Yet, strangely enough, I was able to give them the address. The soldiers offered to take me home. This wasn’t far out their way because the barracks were at the far end of our street. Of course, my mother was both surprised and delighted to see me. She began searching for another maid. Often, when my mother felt tired, she would take 15 minute catnaps. On such occasions I would creep under a table and sit there. Upon waking she would see me sitting in exactly the same spot. I was surprised that she found this unusual. For me, at the age of six, sitting perfectly still, thinking nothing and doing nothing, was natural. I loved cars. For our summer holidays “Uncle” Severin, a friend of my mother, used to provide us with a car and chauffeur to take us to stay with Uncle John and Aunt Helena who lived in a new villa in the Carpathian Mountains. Uncle Severin was a VIP – chief of the Counterespionage Service for North Poland. During the 6 _____________________________________________________________________ daylong drive in the big black Chevrolet I stood for hours behind the driver’s seat, watching the road. We passed through towns, villages, forests and cultivated fields. Almost all of the traffic was horse-drawn and the villagers were turning to stare at the beautiful American car. Now and then, the driver had to change a tyre, as the horses were losing nails from their shoes. I once managed to open the door while the car was in motion and I was very surprised that Mother and chauffeur got so upset about this.