Oh my, fruitses and brownies ...

I'm up at Columbia today, and their math department has the most amazing tea setup. Espresso machines. Teabags that aren't Lipton. Four large platters of fruit (watermelon, canteloupe, honeydew, grapes, kiwi, strawberries ...). Brownies!

Add to that, that the wireless on campus is free and universally accessible.

It's like I crossed into some alternate dimension where mathematicians are not shabby cousins, the internet is free instead of being hemmed in by 9 types of authentication, and they let you into their library just because you're visiting, without giving you the 3rd degree.

This is totally alien to my experience in Princetonia, or NYU, or Austin, or wherever.