Reposted by Simon BlackburnAstronomy 🔭 @astronomy.bsky.social · 09/10/2026Margaret Hamilton, who led the team that wrote the code that put humans on the moon, has died at 90 🕊️ 719340
Reposted by Simon BlackburnTrain Songs Central @trainsongscentral.bsky.social · 09/10/2026'But I don't need no friends As long as I gaze on Waterloo sunset I am in paradise' - 'Waterloo Sunset' by The Kinks (1967) - 📷 Waterloo station, London, 1964, taken by David Christie 2358
Reposted by Simon BlackburnCats with Jobs ⚒️ @catworkers.bsky.social · 08/10/2026📚 A book store cat spotted by AmsInTheNorth! 027032
Reposted by Simon BlackburnBenjamin @benjaminschneider.ch · 01/10/2026just came across this incredible picture of Terry Pratchett 8467431577
Reposted by Simon BlackburnTom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 04/10/2026A thread about a great cat, and the post-retirement creative evolution of a great artist, in 20 images... 24874282
Reposted by Simon BlackburnNational Trust @nationaltrust.org.uk · 28/09/2026Today marks three years since the iconic Sycamore Gap tree was illegally felled. We're pleased to bring you new images which reveal how the stump is growing, a sure sign that the tree is in recovery. 433079
Reposted by Simon BlackburnTim Carmody @tcarmody.bsky.social · 02/10/2026This is the funniest thing I've seen today, possibly ever 41120543123
Simon Blackburn @simonrblackburn.bsky.social · 02/10/2026But I'm sure he's right that AI will be central to maths in the future. It's a fascinating time to be in the field, and equally fascinating to hear Kevin's views on this. Interesting times! 000
Simon Blackburn @simonrblackburn.bsky.social · 02/10/2026I'm not sure I agree with everything. In particular, I think calling for OpenAI to release all its mathematical results as a data dump underestimates the negative effects. (I strongly agree with AGAMI that OpenAI should integrate these results into the community, as any mathematician would.) 100
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 637261
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 … 23813
Reposted by Simon BlackburnCats with Jobs ⚒️ @catworkers.bsky.social · 25/09/2026So many bookstore cats... 📚 📹 Cupboard Maker Books 126835
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 · 18/09/2026Here is a more direct link tinyurl.com/awrt5kvx in case this is useful.tinyurl.comSAIR’s Open Math Model initiativeLast year I co-founded the Foundation for Science and AI Research (SAIR) with some private donors to create a non-profit organization that could support responsible uses of AI in mathematics and th… 000
Simon Blackburn @simonrblackburn.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Governance would also be open. I don't currently use AI in my research at all. But I do want to use these tools, and I am *much* more comfortable using the proposed SAIR system rather than current alternatives which do not seem to have the maths community's interest at heart. 100
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 · 18/09/2026Bounded means bounded by a function of k and c. And there are connections to the active area of groups on graphs, which is a nice bonus! 000
Simon Blackburn @simonrblackburn.bsky.social · 18/09/2026A subset X of a finite group is k-power-avoiding if for all group elements x, the subset X does not contain both x and x^k. The paper contains a structural result on groups containing a k-power-avoiding set of size |G|-c: the subgroup generated by kth powers is bounded in order. 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…  491919302
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. 14741151
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 24550431566
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 524191195441
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. 722622142
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. 06029953
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