Reposted by Simon BlackburnTim Carmody @tcarmody.bsky.social · 02/10/2026This is the funniest thing I've seen today, possibly ever 40118403074
Simon Blackburn @simonrblackburn.bsky.social · 02/10/2026An interesting blog entry by Kevin Buzzard tinyurl.com/mus84yum, with a discussion of various mathematicians' approaches to AI in the field and a contention of the centrality of AI to the future of the field.tinyurl.comTo grieve, or not to grieve?Recent events in the field of AI for mathematics have shown us beyond all reasonable doubt that the field is currently undergoing a rapid transformation, unlike anything that we have ever seen befo… 100
Reposted by Simon BlackburnCats with Jobs ⚒️ @catworkers.bsky.social · 01/10/2026📸 Nevada Northern Railway Museum 635658
Reposted by Simon BlackburnTimothy Gowers @wtgowers.bsky.social · 30/09/2026The advisory group on mathematics and artificial intelligence, of which I am a member, has just published a set of recommendations concerning the responsible release of mathematical results generated by AI companies using internal models. 1/3 agmai.org/general-sep29/agmai.orggeneral-sep29Responsible Release of AI-Generated Mathematics September 29, 2026 Back to main page Download PDF At present, some frontier AI labs are testing advanced mathematical problems on proprietary models … 23713
Reposted by Simon BlackburnCats with Jobs ⚒️ @catworkers.bsky.social · 25/09/2026So many bookstore cats... 📚 📹 Cupboard Maker Books 126534
Reposted by Simon BlackburnJohn C. Baez @johncarlosbaez.bsky.social · 25/09/2026The number of combinatorics papers submitted to the arXiv is growing at a crazy rate! It may be mathematicians rushing to use AI to knock off lots of problems. This will cause big problems for journals, unless they raise their standards. proofsandprompts.com/2026/09/25/d... 43411
Reposted by Simon BlackburnTrain Songs Central @trainsongscentral.bsky.social · 25/09/2026'I've been to ancient worlds, I've scoured the whole universe And caught the first train home, to be at her side' - 'English Rose' by The Jam (1978) - 📷 Woking, England, 1964, taken by David Christie 0347
Reposted by Simon BlackburnRedPen/BlackPen @redpenblackpen.bsky.social · 22/09/2026That's a nice paper you got there. It'd be a shame if anything .... happened to it 0158
Reposted by Simon BlackburnJohn Lyon @johnlyon.bsky.social · 19/09/2026The first rule of Overexplaining Club is you do not talk about Overexplaining Club because this is a secret club and we want it to stay a secret, but if you talk about it then people will know it exists, thus ruining the secrecy. 9511160
Reposted by Simon BlackburnAstronomy 🔭 @astronomy.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Pikachu has been to space ⚡ ESA just revealed the Pokémon secretly spent 67 days aboard the ISS 06516
Simon Blackburn @simonrblackburn.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Terry Tao announces the SAIR initiative: to construct an Open Math Model. terrytao.wordpress.com/2026/09/ The proposal is for a model that is useful for everyday maths research with open development and data owned by the mathematical community (used for training only with explicit consent).terrytao.wordpress.comThe AKS primality testThe Agrawal-Kayal-Saxena (AKS) primality test, discovered in 2002, is the first provably deterministic algorithm to determine the primality of a given number with a run time which is guaranteed to … 100
Simon Blackburn @simonrblackburn.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Simon R. Blackburn, Sarah B. Hart and Daniel McVeagh, `Finite groups with large power-avoiding subsets’ appeared on arXiv yesterday: arxiv.org/abs/2609.18513. A very enjoyable project, coming from Dan's PhD (supervised by Sarah).arxiv.orgFinite groups with large power-avoiding subsetsA subset $X$ of a finite group $G$ is $k$-power-avoiding if for all $g\in G$ we have that $\{g,g^k\}\not\subseteq X$. The paper shows that if $G$ contains a $k$-power-avoiding subset $X$ with $|X|\geq... 100
Reposted by Simon Blackburnmr. TIM @timkellogg.me · 17/09/2026OpenAI is close to solving the Hodge Conjecture, another millennium prize problem I assume they’ve already solved it, just trying to figure out how to break the news nicely given that historically these announcements haven’t resulted in positive press www.theinformation.com/newsletters/...theinformation.comOpenAI Is Close To Solving Another Millennium Prize Math ProblemRemember when OpenAI landed in hot water earlier this month after mathematicians accused the company of trying to steal their thunder for solving an ultra-difficult math problem? (I know it feels like... 6441
Reposted by Simon BlackburnDanny Fearns @dannyfearns.bsky.social · 16/09/2026I don't follow Formula One, but good on them for using subtitles for the hard of hearing…  501914303
Reposted by Simon BlackburnMatt Henderson @matthen.com · 13/09/2026Approximating the Lorenz attractor with a chaotic leaky water wheel. The orange dot is the centre of mass of the water. It traces (a projection of) the familiar attractor as the wheel spins seemingly randomly left and right. 14738151
Reposted by Simon BlackburnZach Weinersmith @zachweinersmith.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Very forceful statement by Terry Tao about AI and math. terrytao.wordpress.com/2026/09/11/a... Note, he is not claiming the models aren't real and powerful. He's talking about how that power should be used. This, I believe, is what all AI discussions should center.terrytao.wordpress.comA Severe Misalignment of AI in MathematicsI am proud to be among the list of 25 initial signatories — all Fields Medallists — to the declaration below, which grew out of discussions between ourselves over the last week. We have… 19922230
Reposted by Simon BlackburnBrian Bilston @brianbilston.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Today’s poem is called ‘In the Departure Lounge’. 933162
Reposted by Simon BlackburnLRB Bookshop @londonreviewbookshop.co.uk · 09/09/2026was standing behind charlie while he served a customer and he turned down a proffered £20 note because the king was winking on it. we looked it up afterwards and it turns out this was a big mistake 26516
Reposted by Simon BlackburnElle Cordova @ellecordova.bsky.social · 08/09/2026I am the very model of a modern day typographer A font take on the tune “Modern Major General” by Gilbert & Sullivan #typography #fonts #graphicdesign 24650321563
Simon Blackburn @simonrblackburn.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Two unusual sights in Egham this lunchtime: a GWR locomotive, and rain! 011
Reposted by Simon BlackburnMicah Warren @micah541.bsky.social · 08/09/2026cloak and dagger navier stokes cims.nyu.edu/~tristanb/st...cims.nyu.edu 1342278
Reposted by Simon BlackburnJohn C. Baez @johncarlosbaez.bsky.social · 08/09/2026For the human story, read Tristan Buckmaster's statement. He and Levent Alpöge (the latter at Anthropic) felt pressured to quickly release an unpolished proof of finite-time blowup for the Euler equations after hearing that a team at OpenAI was doing similar work. Stressful stuff: 1183
Reposted by Simon BlackburnJohn C. Baez @johncarlosbaez.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Wow! A lot of progress toward solving one of the Millenium Prize problems - proving blowup for Navier-Stokes. It involves AI, and the folks at OpenAI are battling the folks at Anthropic to get to the finish line first. For the math, read these posts by Terence Tao:mathstodon.xyzTerence Tao (@tao@mathstodon.xyz)A remarkable achievement: Alpöge and Buckmaster have managed to push one of the major promising approaches towards constructing blowup solutions to fluid equations --- as developed by Cordoba and Mart... 22811
Reposted by Simon BlackburnThe Guardian @theguardian.com · 07/09/2026‘It’s the Bayeux tapestry of TV!’ After six decades, the seminal series bows out with 70 Uptheguardian.com‘It’s the Bayeux tapestry of TV!’ After six decades, the seminal series bows out with 70 UpThe ‘hugely important artefact’ that’s followed 14 children since they were seven is set to air its final instalment. The now-septuagenarians and director Asif Kapadia talk about breaking new ground for 63 years – and changing TV forever 410731
Reposted by Simon BlackburnNETWORK SOUTHEAST LATCHMERE 🟥🟦⬜️ @nse-latchmere.bsky.social · 06/09/2026What a way to celebrate 40 years of Network Southeast!! Well done to all involved at the Bluebell Railways NSE diesel gala! Here is a highlight video. #NSE40 1101
Reposted by Simon Blackburn𝕯𝖆𝖓🍂🎃🕸️ @arepublic86.bsky.social · 05/09/2026Charlotte Wainwright restoring and saving old/ancient books. www.wainwrightbookbinding.com 523190975434
Reposted by Simon BlackburnDr Kathleen Neal @kbneal.bsky.social · 06/09/2026I feel like Bluesky is the place where people will appreciate how envious I still am of my sister, around 35 years after she achieved her (and my) top bucket list item of being locked in the bookshop when it closed, and having the place to entirely to herself. 722624142
Reposted by Simon BlackburnStuart Jones @owenthesignal.bsky.social · 04/09/2026#AlphabetChallenge #WeekIforIntegers NetworkSoutheast! /// 2152
Reposted by Simon BlackburnChris Addison @mrchrisaddison.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Somewhere in England, a tired man turns off Channel 4 news and wearily puts on a bin. 06032953
Reposted by Simon BlackburnAnne Robbins @hincmariana.bsky.social · 03/09/2026An ancient listing, flagged in an old cutting from the Guardian, for a job at Southeast Missouri State University, to teach philosophy and religious studies. Startlingly frank. 1227181
Reposted by Simon BlackburnianVisits @ianvisits.co.uk · 02/09/2026ianvisits.co.ukLondon’s Public Art: Emanuel Hollow’s railway girdersA new sculpture has appeared next to Barnes railway bridge, and appropriately for its location, it’s made from pieces of the old railway bridge itself. 0125
Reposted by Simon BlackburnJoe Brown @joebrownlondon.bsky.social · 31/08/2026#OnThisDay 186 years ago the GWR opened between Bath Spa and Bristol Temple Meads; it would be a further 10 months before the line was completed through Box Tunnel connecting Bristol to London. BR Blue abounds at Bristol Temple Meads in May 1980: Geoff7918 buff.ly/YeAmeOE 4486
Reposted by Simon BlackburnSt. Simeon the Holy Fool @simeonthefool.bsky.social · 30/08/2026Cleopatra lived closer to the moon landing than to the present day 2174
Reposted by Simon BlackburnGail Myerscough @gailmyerscough.co.uk · 28/08/2026Pete’s Prize Draw Every order placed this Bank Holiday weekend goes into a draw. One order wins £50 to spend in my shop. Pete will pick the winner. www.gailmyerscough.co.uk 6216110
Reposted by Simon BlackburnJosh Eyler @josheyler.bsky.social · 27/08/2026Major kudos to MIT, who just put out a report about AI on their campus that lucidly explains the threat posed by AI to cognition and the student experience, while at the same time prioritizes learning, students, and the value of education. 1/x aiandeducation.mit.edu/report/aiandeducation.mit.eduReport – AI and Education 11619271
Reposted by Simon BlackburnPeter Rowlett @peterrowlett.net · 24/08/2026Went to the Boole memorial in Lincoln. Boole is teaching two children some logic. One has a slate labelled “ALICIA”, his daughter’s name. Any ideas why the other is labelled “TAD”? (It amused me that while Tad is copying from the board, Alicia, who became a 4D geometer, is drawing some geometry.) 2154
Reposted by Simon BlackburnBrian Bilston @brianbilston.bsky.social · 23/08/2026I’m off to Edinburgh today ahead of my seven shows at this year’s Fringe. As ever, my train ‘journey’ has got off to a spectacular start. 1923361
Reposted by Simon Blackburnrev. howard arson @theophite.bsky.social · 19/08/2026the mechanism behind this is that if you don't do your homework you don't learn the topic 23644112
Reposted by Simon BlackburnHelen Czerski @helenczerski.bsky.social · 18/08/2026Never mind tree-hugging... do you fancy almost kissing a tree? I did, yesterday in Hyde Park, on the hunt for the beauty of lichen (and you have to get REALLY up close and personal to see it). This is all for an episode of Rare Earth on cooperation in nature (competition's partner), coming soon. 108817
Reposted by Simon BlackburnTube Mapper- Luke Agbaimoni @tubemapper.bsky.social · 16/08/2026One of the frustrating things about social media is how quickly posts disappear & information gets buried. I realised I haven’t talked about my books for quite a while, so I thought I’d bring one back into the spotlight with some images from my 2d book, Symmetry and Imperfections. 213725
Reposted by Simon BlackburnLondon Mathematical Society @londmathsoc.bsky.social · 13/08/2026💐 Congratulations to all those across the UK who received their results. It is heartening to see maths remain the most popular A-level, with entries reaching a record 115,380, an increase of 2.89% compared with 2025. Read our full statement 👇 www.lms.ac.uk/news/a-level... 041
Reposted by Simon BlackburnHetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 12/08/2026This is a lovely site which helps remind us of much of what we take for granted in material progress ordinaryabundance.com (HT @aveek18.bsky.social)ordinaryabundance.comOrdinary AbundanceA walk through a modern apartment, through the eyes of the people for whom everything in it was new. 10469211
Reposted by Simon BlackburnRev. Dr. Liz Gloyn @lizgloyn.bsky.social · 13/08/2026It's a busy day, what with the by-election and A-level results. If you have a young person in your life who is exploring options available to them via Clearing, Royal Holloway has degree courses available for applicants.royalholloway.ac.ukClearing vacanciesCourses available via Clearing. 074
Reposted by Simon Blackburnmr. TIM @timkellogg.me · 12/08/2026Claude found a Hadamard matrix if you know what this means please explain why it’s important and i’ll make sure people see it 4201
Reposted by Simon BlackburnJonty Wareing @jonty.bsky.social · 12/08/2026I updated my total eclipse webcam viewer for today's eclipse! Once totality begins you'll see a live-updating umbra, so you can race to the next webcam and see the eclipse happen over and over again. jonty.github.io/2026_eclipse... 11483269