Poet,
mathematician survives political refugee camp, thrives at UNM-Gallup
By Linda
Thornton
 |
| Smarandache
is well known in the mathematics world as the creator of
neutrosophic logic, similar to fuzzy logic. |
Coming
of age in Communist Romania, Florentin Smarandache endured many
hardships. Poet, writer and mathematician, Smarandache was denied
the right to publish his work and forced to smuggle his manuscripts
out of the country. In 1986, after he criticized the Communist
party, he was refused a passport and denied permission to attend
an international mathematicians congress at Berkeley.
He launched a hunger strike in protest, at which time the government
denied him the opportunity to work.
It
was very depressing. I didnt know how long I would have
to be there.
Smarandache
about time spent in a Turkish political refugee camp
And, as
he would find out many years later, the repressive regime began
to shadow him.
Finally,
in 1988, he escaped from Romania, leaving behind his pregnant
wife, his son and his parents. He first went to Bulgaria, then
on to a ship to Turkey. In Turkey he sought help from the American
consulate and was sent to live two years in a political refugee
camp in Turkey before finding his way to the United States,
where his family later joined him.
It
was very depressing, he said of the time in the refugee
camp, noting that uncharacteristically, he wrote little during
those two years. I didnt know how long I would have
to be there.
Today,
as an associate professor of mathematics at UNM-Gallup, Smarandache
is making the most of his freedom. He has authored, co-authored
and edited 57 booksmostly in Romanian, although he has
also ventured into English composition in the last few years.
He contributes to more than 100 literary and 50 scientific journals.
Many of his literary works are found on a website, http://www.gallup.unm.edu/~smarandache/,
which he also uses as an international forum for the exchange
of ideas.
Smarandache
is also well known in the mathematics world as the creator of
neutrosophic logic. Its similar to the better-known fuzzy
logic. Fuzzy logic, the processing of uncertain information,
is the opposite of the crisp logic of Aristotle
and Pythagoras, which defines everything in precise, numerical
valuesfuzzy logic is said to better reflect
reality. Neutrosophy, says Smarandache, goes fuzzy logic one
better by explaining paradoxes, which fuzzy logic does not.
The
processing of uncertain information has been a hot topic of
research since the 18th century, says Smarandache. During
the second half of the 20th century, several new and interesting
mathematical theories have emerged in parallel with the development
of computer science and technology in order to combine many
types of information. Smarandache sees information fusion
as a way to combine such diverse information in different applications,
and find ways to use them in the defense industry, among others.
To that
end, Smarandache is co-chair of the International Conference
on Applications of Plausible, Paradoxical and Neutrosophic Reasoning
for Information Fusion. The conference is set for July 8-11
in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. (e-mail smarand@unm.edu
for more information.)
Coincidentally,
Smarandache is also the foremost proponent of Paradoxism,
an avant-garde movement that makes connections between literature,
philosophy, art and science.
As a man
who has known life without liberty, Smarandache treasures his
current freedom. My intense productivity in America is
in compensation for my hard time in Romania, he says,
adding, Vive la liberté!