Author: fintanmallory

With lockdown wearing on, my occasional walks outside took on a more epic feel. I think many of us felt something like this. Perhaps the new found sense of risk rarified the landscape. I took to photographing tree stumps in the style of Ansel Adams. I can't say I really captured the style - I… Continue reading Mesas and the mundane →

Here's a piece of music that has been described as a sign that I obviously hate pianists and wish for them to suffer. That isn't strictly true. But if you're in quarantine and want to hurt your fingers in the service of some noise, fill your boots:  A Minor Etude If you're wondering if the… Continue reading Music (Almost) →

Here's a little thing I wrote on Liam Ó Rinn's translation of the Irish national anthem. It's not exactly a scholarly work, in fact, it existence is almost exclusively a result of a recent bout of insomnia. The anthem gets a rough time but I think that Ó Rinn's translation is truly impressive and thought it… Continue reading Amhrán na bhFiann →

While in the process of dissecting my PhD dissertation into discrete articles I have come across some sections which, while interesting to me, are too short or trivial to warrant full publication. Over the next few weeks, I'll be turning some of these into blog posts beginning with a discussion that connects two of my… Continue reading Blame Cassirer →

When going through some old folders the other day I found some notes for a paper which I had been working on several years ago. Its purpose was to give a quick overview of some of the ideas and theorems that connect formal language theory, model theory, automata theory and abstract algebra but written specifically for… Continue reading Old Notes →

A tedious part of reading a book in a new language is having to jot down all the new words you’re encountering. My normal method is to read a couple of pages writing down words I don't know and trying to get the gist of what’s happening. Then I’ll look up the words I’ve written… Continue reading A simple program for language learners →