This book would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of the people around me. I have been fortunate enough to grow up surrounded by good people who knew the value of math and encouraged me in my studies and with this project. In this section, I want to big up all the people who deserve it.

First and foremost in this list are my parents who brought me up well, educated me and taught me how to think critically.

Next in line are all my teachers. I want to thank my CEGEP teachers: Karnig Bedrossian from whom I learned calculus, Paul Kenton from whom I leaned how to think about physics in a chill manner and Benoit Larose who taught me that more dimensions does not mean things get more complicated. I want to thank Kohur GowriSankaran, Frank Ferrie, Mourad El-Gamal, Ioannis Psaromiligkos for teaching me how to be an Engineer, Guy Moore and Zaven Altounian who taught me a lot about advanced physics. I owe many thanks to Patrick Hayden, David Avis and Doina Precup for their support and advice on matters of research. I also want to thank Igor Khavkine, Juan Pablo Di Lelle, Andie Sigler, Omar Fawzi and Mark M. Wilde for teaching me a great many things.

Preparing this book took a lot of effort. Afton Lewis, Oleg Zhoglo and Alexandra Foty helped me proofread early drafts and suggested many clarifications. Their comments and feedback were much appreciated and contributed to make this book better.

Last but not least, I want to thank all my students for their endless questions and demands for explanations. If I have developed any skill for explaining things, it is to them that I owe it.