It's Official: I'm a Nice Woman

I'm addicted to TVGuide.com. Although I subscribe to the magazine, the daily site is much more fun (and, of course, timely). There's a daily feature called The Watercooler, where various TVG writers recount their adventures in viewing on a show-by-show basis.

Two weeks ago, one of the writers, Angel Cohn, recapped the week's episode of NUMB3RS, the slightly geeky show about ... well, geeks, actually. But cute geeks. Who solve major crimes. My husband being a mathematician and all, we feel as though we have a vested interest in the program, so we always watch it. In that review, Ms. Cohn mentioned that she liked the show, but wasn't sure how accurate it was. In particular, she wanted to know if real mathematicians still write their formulas in longhand on boards (as the show's main character, Charlie Eppes, does) instead of using computers. Using the page's Web form, I sent her a note reassuring her that yes, real mathematicians scrawl their work across every available flat surface. Just this week, Jim used a paper towel to capture a sudden thought.

All of this is leading somewhere, I assure you.

In this week's recap (which appeared Monday in the Over the Weekend section), Ms. Cohn wrote a plot summation, then added:

The writers do a great job of integrating the personal and work story lines. Oh, and on a separate note, thanks to the nice woman who wrote in saying that her husband does his mathematical calculations long hand on a white board, like Charlie. Knowing that little fact makes me happy because not only are the writers clever with their plots, they're also accurate.

That's me! I'm the "nice woman!" Now that it's in print (or rather, on the Web), we know it must be true. That's very reassuring, in a nice sort of way.