I will trace over my trajectory in mathematics and physics from gauge
theory to the N-body problem by way of the Falling Cat.
My first papers were on the motion of an allegedly classical particle
moving in a Yang-Mills field. While at MIT Jair Koiller showed me the
work of Alfred Shapere and Frank Wilczeck
which induced me to understand the problem faced by a falling cat as a
problem in gauge theory.
This led to problems in re-orienting robots and control theory which
led me to subRiemannian geometry and trying to understand what ended
up being a false `theorem' regarding subRiemannian minimizers.
I kept up on the cat, simplifying it until the cat became three mass
points and found myself working on the three-body problem. This last
has dominated my work these last 20 years.
I will state a few theorems that arose along the way.