Edited by Dava Sobel Optimization under uncertainty is a field of study in which my grown son will earn his Ph.D. The math, in his case, concerns the production of wind energy. He reads his papers aloud on the phone to me as a way to optimize their clarity, so that even a layperson, such as myself, can understand what he’s saying, in between each beautifully made equation and graph. For me, it’s a matter of optimizing my time with him, my only child, who lives so far away and does not get along with the man I married. I’m looking for the algorithm that can minimize the pain entailed for all of us in this awful situation. One needs to account for the inconstancy of the wind’s strength and direction, and how best to cant the rotors’ turning blades, and how the power produced is affected by the wakes created when lots of turbines are working in concert together. We stay on the phone for hours sometimes while I fill my sails with the sweet sounds of my son’s voice, filled with longing to hold him close again. I admire the choice he’s made to apply his gifts in ways that can make the world a better place, even though uncertainty is omnipresent, and must be factored in to every calculation.

Optimization under uncertainty is a field of study in which my grown son will earn his Ph.D. The math, in his case, concerns the production of wind energy.

He reads his papers aloud on the phone to me as a way to optimize their clarity, so that even a layperson, such as myself, can understand what he’s saying, in between each beautifully made equation and graph.

For me, it’s a matter of optimizing my time with him, my only child, who lives so far away and does not get along with the man I married. I’m looking for the algorithm that can minimize the pain entailed for all of us in this awful situation.

One needs to account for the inconstancy of the wind’s strength and direction, and how best to cant the rotors’ turning blades, and how the power produced is affected by the wakes created when lots of turbines are working in concert together.

We stay on the phone for hours sometimes while I fill my sails with the sweet sounds of my son’s voice, filled with longing to hold him close again.

I admire the choice he’s made to apply his gifts in ways that can make the world a better place, even though uncertainty is omnipresent, and must be factored in to every calculation.