Matthew T. Dickerson
Encyclopedia
Matthew T. Dickerson is a professor of computer science
at Middlebury College
in Vermont
, a scholar of the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien
and the Inklings
, a novelist, a blues musician and historian of music, a fly fisherman, a maple sugar farmer, and a beekeeper.
Dickerson received an A.B. from Dartmouth College
in 1985, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Cornell University
, under the supervision of Dexter Kozen
, in 1989. His Ph.D. research was in symbolic computation
, but since then he has worked primarily in computational geometry
; his most frequently cited computer science papers concern k-nearest neighbor algorithm
s and minimum-weight triangulation. He has been on the Middlebury faculty since receiving his Ph.D.
He is also the author of six non-technical books, most of them about fantasy fiction. His 2003 book Following Gandalf: Epic Battles and Moral Victory in The Lord of the Rings
(Brazos Press, 2003, ISBN 9781587430855), a study of the moral and Christian values expressed by Tolkien's works, highlights the contrasts between moral and physical victories, and between heroism and violence; it points out the necessity of having free will in order to make moral choices.
It was shortlisted for the Mythopoeic Society
's 2004 and 2005 Mythopoeic Scholarship Awards
. He has also written a pair of books on Tolkien, C. S. Lewis
, and environmentalism
, Ents, Elves, and Eriador: The Environmental Vision of J.R.R. Tolkien (with Jonathan Evans, The University Press of Kentucky, 2006, ISBN 978-0813124186) and Narnia and the Fields of Arbol: The Environmental Vision of C. S. Lewis (with David L. O'Hara, The University Press of Kentucky, 2009, ISBN 978-0813125220). Despite giving the first of these two books an overall negative review, reviewer Patrick Curry writes that it is "a major new contribution to the subject of Tolkien's work". His other books include The Finnsburg Encounter (Crossway Books, 1991, ISBN 9780891076049), a work of historical fiction, translated into German as Licht uber Friesland (Verlag Schulte & Gerth, 1996, ISBN 3894374225), Hammers and Nails: The Life and Music of Mark Heard (Cornerstone Press, 2003, ISBN 9780940895492), a biography of musician Mark Heard
, and
From Homer to Harry Potter: A Handbook on Myth and Fantasy (with David L. O'Hara, Brazos Press, 2006, ISBN 978-1587431333).
From 1997 to 2001 Dickerson published a biweekly column on fishing and the outdoors in the Addison Independent, a local newspaper.
Since 2002 he has been the director of the New England Young Writers Conference, an annual four-day conference for high school students in Bread Loaf, Vermont that is associated with Middlebury College. He is also the founding director of the Vermont Conference on Christianity and the Arts. He plays bass in a Vermont-based blues band, Deep Freyed.
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
at Middlebury College
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, a scholar of the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
and the Inklings
Inklings
The Inklings was an informal literary discussion group associated with the University of Oxford, England, for nearly two decades between the early 1930s and late 1949. The Inklings were literary enthusiasts who praised the value of narrative in fiction, and encouraged the writing of fantasy...
, a novelist, a blues musician and historian of music, a fly fisherman, a maple sugar farmer, and a beekeeper.
Dickerson received an A.B. from Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
in 1985, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, under the supervision of Dexter Kozen
Dexter Kozen
Dexter Campbell Kozen is an American theoretical computer scientist. He is currently Joseph Newton Pew, Jr. Professor in Engineering at Cornell University. He received his B.A...
, in 1989. His Ph.D. research was in symbolic computation
Symbolic computation
Symbolic computation or algebraic computation, relates to the use of machines, such as computers, to manipulate mathematical equations and expressions in symbolic form, as opposed to manipulating the approximations of specific numerical quantities represented by those symbols...
, but since then he has worked primarily in computational geometry
Computational geometry
Computational geometry is a branch of computer science devoted to the study of algorithms which can be stated in terms of geometry. Some purely geometrical problems arise out of the study of computational geometric algorithms, and such problems are also considered to be part of computational...
; his most frequently cited computer science papers concern k-nearest neighbor algorithm
K-nearest neighbor algorithm
In pattern recognition, the k-nearest neighbor algorithm is a method for classifying objects based on closest training examples in the feature space. k-NN is a type of instance-based learning, or lazy learning where the function is only approximated locally and all computation is deferred until...
s and minimum-weight triangulation. He has been on the Middlebury faculty since receiving his Ph.D.
He is also the author of six non-technical books, most of them about fantasy fiction. His 2003 book Following Gandalf: Epic Battles and Moral Victory in The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
(Brazos Press, 2003, ISBN 9781587430855), a study of the moral and Christian values expressed by Tolkien's works, highlights the contrasts between moral and physical victories, and between heroism and violence; it points out the necessity of having free will in order to make moral choices.
It was shortlisted for the Mythopoeic Society
Mythopoeic Society
The Mythopoeic Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study of mythopoeia, fantasy and mythic literature. The group focuses primarily, but not exclusively, on works written by J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and C. S. Lewis. These authors were members of The Inklings, an...
's 2004 and 2005 Mythopoeic Scholarship Awards
Mythopoeic Awards
The Mythopoeic Awards for literature and literary studies are given by the Mythopoeic Society to authors of outstanding works in the fields of myth, fantasy, and the scholarly study of these areas; the full criteria and description can be read on the Mythopoeic Society's -Mythopoeic Fantasy...
. He has also written a pair of books on Tolkien, C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
, and environmentalism
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
, Ents, Elves, and Eriador: The Environmental Vision of J.R.R. Tolkien (with Jonathan Evans, The University Press of Kentucky, 2006, ISBN 978-0813124186) and Narnia and the Fields of Arbol: The Environmental Vision of C. S. Lewis (with David L. O'Hara, The University Press of Kentucky, 2009, ISBN 978-0813125220). Despite giving the first of these two books an overall negative review, reviewer Patrick Curry writes that it is "a major new contribution to the subject of Tolkien's work". His other books include The Finnsburg Encounter (Crossway Books, 1991, ISBN 9780891076049), a work of historical fiction, translated into German as Licht uber Friesland (Verlag Schulte & Gerth, 1996, ISBN 3894374225), Hammers and Nails: The Life and Music of Mark Heard (Cornerstone Press, 2003, ISBN 9780940895492), a biography of musician Mark Heard
Mark Heard
John Mark Heard was a record producer, folk-rock singer, and songwriter originally from Macon, Georgia, USA....
, and
From Homer to Harry Potter: A Handbook on Myth and Fantasy (with David L. O'Hara, Brazos Press, 2006, ISBN 978-1587431333).
From 1997 to 2001 Dickerson published a biweekly column on fishing and the outdoors in the Addison Independent, a local newspaper.
Since 2002 he has been the director of the New England Young Writers Conference, an annual four-day conference for high school students in Bread Loaf, Vermont that is associated with Middlebury College. He is also the founding director of the Vermont Conference on Christianity and the Arts. He plays bass in a Vermont-based blues band, Deep Freyed.