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I've been collecting some of the many unpublished manuscripts of Bill Thurston over the years. His recent passing inspired me to ask the following. I've seen a number of references (for instance, in his wikipedia biography here) to a senior thesis that he wrote when he was a student at New College in Florida which concerns intuitionist foundations for mathematics. Does anyone happen to have a copy of this that they could either post electronically or mail to me?

EDIT : This was originally a comment, but I thought I'd move it up here because it might be of wider interest. Thurston made an interesting blog comment about his early philosophical interests here. An excerpt : "BTW, I was very taken by Kleene’s book on Foundations of Mathematics when I was in college, and it motivated me to write a senior thesis on intuitionist topology. I thought I might become an intuitionist logician, but when I approached Tarski to advise me, he said that Berkeley wasn’t a good place for intuitionism, so I went into topology instead."

Andy Putman
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    I suggest contacting a librarian at New College. I remember reading through a shelf of theses from the 1970s in the library when I was a student. – Douglas Zare Aug 22 '12 at 22:05
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    Sounds good. If it is not too long, and of interest to many people, some effort could be arranged to TeX it up and post it on some sort of online archive? – David Roberts Aug 22 '12 at 22:37
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    Dylan Thurston has participated in MO and would be aware of what copies exist; but keep in mind that such student work could be an embarrassment in mature years. Note too that the new president of New College (now the honors college of U. South Florida) is a mathematician, Donal O'Shea. (New College in Thurston's time was a small quirky private college, where my oldest brother taught for a few years just after Thurston graduated. An interesting place to visit at the time, on the old Ringling estate in Sarasota.) – Jim Humphreys Aug 22 '12 at 22:55
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    @Jim: Thurston's subsequent accomplishments have put him beyond any possible embarrassment. – Igor Rivin Aug 22 '12 at 23:21
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    I think it is reasonable to put such a request to his family and close friends, as they can serve as a proxy of sorts for Bill Thurston. Their reply (especially if it is no) should be respected. Gerhard Paseman, 2012.08.22 – Gerhard Paseman Aug 22 '12 at 23:31
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    I would certainly consult the family as a courtesy, but the senior thesis is a public document. – Igor Rivin Aug 22 '12 at 23:57
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    Indeed, Igor. Making the document accessible is one thing, making it easily accessible (e.g. via Internet) is another, and broadcasting it is yet another, each with its own consequences and complications. While you and I might agree that the Thurston family is beyond embarrassment from this thesis, it is not our place to assert it. Gerhard Paseman, 2012.08.22 – Gerhard Paseman Aug 23 '12 at 00:11
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    Well, it is a certainty that Bill's collected works will be published (I would certainly like his very well thought out MO answers to be included there, btw) , and the senior thesis is a candidate to go into that. These days, "published" means "published electronically". – Igor Rivin Aug 23 '12 at 00:57
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    It would be weird to track down things like this for Joe Schmo the mathematician, but Thurston is a historical figure and documents from his early years are important historical records. I think it is perfectly legitimate to track them down. However, it goes without saying that I would check with eg Dylan or Nathaniel before I created any kind of web repository of Thurston's unpublished writings (which I have thought about doing before, but have never gotten around to doing). – Andy Putman Aug 23 '12 at 01:53
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    By the way, Thurston made an interesting blog comment about his early philosophical interests here : http://scienceblogs.com/effectmeasure/2010/05/09/thinking-about-science-and-wha/. An excerpt : "BTW, I was very taken by Kleene’s book on Foundations of Mathematics when I was in college, and it motivated me to write a senior thesis on intuitionist topology. I thought I migh become an intuitionist logician, but when I approached Tarski to advise me, he said that Berkeley wasn’t a good place for intuitionism, so I went into topology instead." – Andy Putman Aug 23 '12 at 01:54

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I've emailed you a pdf copy of "A Constructive Foundation for Topology" by Bill Thurston (June 14, 1967; New College Senior Thesis; submitted to Roger Renne).

In consideration of the comments above, I'm hesitant to post the file in a publicly accessible location. Perhaps the mathoverflow community can figure out whether such a posting would be appropriate.

Benjamin Dickman
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