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From childhood to the present, I have always found mathematics to be the most beautiful of subjects: the elegance of the nicest proofs impresses me more than any other art. This is the reason I studied and continue to study mathematics, although I now also have a second career.
In 1969 I was a young assistant professor of mathematics at the University of Toronto. The war in Vietnam was the cause of frequent protest demonstrations in front of the US Consulate. I was giving a speech at one such when the police told me to stop. I kept speaking. The head of the riot squad told me he would arrest me if I continued. I did, and he did. I was charged with two minor but criminal offences.
Upon reflection I realized that it would be a drag to have a criminal record, so I worked hard preparing my trial with a lawyer. When my lawyer and I disagreed about trial tactics, I fired him and represented myself (with the judge emphasizing that I had a fool for a client). I was acquitted of one charge and convicted of the other at trial; on appeal I was acquitted of the second charge as well.
In the course of representing myself I learned a bit about criminal law and procedure. Over the next 20 years I represented many demonstrators for various good causes. I was a paralegal, with no training but lots of enthusiasm.
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