General

I am Ville Nurmi, a student at the University of Helsinki. I was born on 1979-08-29 and I live in Espoo, Finland.

Studies

I have graduated as a doctor of philosophy from the University of Helsinki. My main subject was mathematics, more specifically mathematical logic. I studied Dependence Logic, a novel logic that relates to IF-logic.

Generally, I find mathematics a very interesting subject. Mathematics as a science is something totally different from what mathematics was in elementary school. We don't really calculate anything. We prove things. Or in other words, studying mathematics is an adventure in the world of mathematics (see below), an expedition to find new mathematical objects. Real mathematics is not about performing series of numerical tasks.

Unlike any other science (physics, religion, musicology, etc), mathematics can be seen as a completely imaginary world. This world of mathematics has nothing to do with our real world. Among mathematicians, there is a global agreement on the extremely simple rules of the world of mathematics. On these rules, everything else is based. Theoretically speaking, when you know the rules, you know everything there is to know about mathematics. However, despite the simpleness of the rules, the world is known to be extremely large and very fascinating in structure. Mathematicians are constantly learning more about the world of mathematics. Actually, no single person knows all about mathematics. Mathematics can also be successfully applied to our real world. This means that there is not only the vast and interesting mathematical world but also the (strange!) fact that it seems to tell us something about our real world. Mathematics can be seen as another reality parallel to our own.

I have also studied lots of computer science. It appeals to me because of its theoretical view on using computers. There are several connections between mathematics and computer science. Both sciences study algorithms, graphs, automata, etc.

I have stuck my fingers in philosophy as well. To me, studying philosophy has been quite an exhausting activity. In order to form a solid ground for even the basics of general philosophical thinking, I have had to read hundreds of pages of philosophical text. To some, it may not be difficult, but for me who has got used to the brief and exact style of mathematical text, it is rather laborious to read descriptions instead of definitions. Nevertheless, I have also had great pleasure in studying philosophy. The abstract and general nature of the central questions of Western philosophy, such as the problem of universals, provides a good basis for such abstract thinking that is connected to the reality. I find the questions very inspiring.

Work

I work full time as a software developer at Napa Ltd, a software company that provides solutions for ship design and operation (not to be confused with the several other companies called Napa that operate in other industries).

During my studies, I worked full time as a researcher at the University of Helsinki, Department of Mathematics. Before that, I have been a programmer and a mathematics teacher. See my CV. Being a teacher was not very hard, and days were short (about 5 hours per day). Despite that, I was always dead tired after teaching. It was probably because teaching is a process which gets formed as it happens. Therefore a teacher must constantly be alert and creative during the teaching process, which is exhausting. There is a nice side to teaching as well. I find it charming to explicate things and to visualise mathematical concepts. It is very pleasing to see somebody understand a new idea.

Programming is a nice job. Before Napa, I've been programming for companies like Foreca and Brain Alliance Solutions. Unlike teaching, programming gives you the possibility to think your task through before doing anything. And you can even go back and fix what you have done. Just the way I like it to be.

Being a researcher is pleasing just as well. In addition to being able to think your actions through, as in programming, you also have a larger degree of freedom in what you choose to focus on. Any problem is worth solving. A further plus for mathematics in contrast to programming is that your tools are not limited. Indeed, you can use whatever you can figure out and prove to be true. On the other hand, mathematical problems tend to be an order of magnitude more difficult than problems in software development. The level of difficulty somewhat undermines the benefits of freedom.

Free Time

I spend my free time mostly at home working on my projects. The main focus changes at times, hovering around games programming, playing games, working on my harpsichord playing and updating the Commodore 64 site C64.com.

Most of what you can find in the products section of this home page is made during my free time. I have found that I am most creative when there is a certain balance between things that I must do (such as my daytime job) and other things that I want to do (such as programming a game). The balance can be broken in two obvious ways. If I am too occupied by approaching deadlines, I get too stressed to be creative. On the other hand, if there is too little emotional pressure on me, I lose my general interest in things and therefore am not motivated enough to create anything.

Page updated on Sunday 2009-11-08 <ville.v.nurmi@helsinki.fi>