I’m interested in math, physics, cosmology, and other sciences too. I occasionally also tweet about classical music and jazz. MBA. I work in the publishing ind.
Unfortunately, this cult of ignorance and anti-intellectualism has been intensified and weaponized for political and financial purposes, with anti-evolutionists, antivaxxers, climate deniers, et al., polluting the dialogue/information space.
Richard Feynman's Restaurant Riddle
Feynman once wondered how many dishes at restaurants one should try before settling on the tastiest (and maximizing the overall quality of one's meals). New mathematical result offers a solution
https://t.co/wJsPoEG1xJ
A beautiful example of an "optimal stopping problem" – Feynman's restaurant problem – with a great backstory behind it. This is a fun, well written article, and a fun math problem too.
https://t.co/0Nng9KLDHa
This terrific article by @sioroberts will help elevate the public discussion of AI in mathematics. The interview about the Leiden Declaration is especially helpful. https://t.co/u4SYxQVXZ2
Avi Wigderson is the only person in history to have won both a Turing Award (computer science) and Abel Prize (math). I interviewed him all about his field. We discussed:
• His intuition on a proof of P vs NP
• Why we use SAT solvers for most NP problems
• Zero knowledge proofs and their impact
• Quantum computation and implications
• Math and computer science's relationship
Where to watch:
• YouTube: https://t.co/zViqAulFCo
• Spotify: https://t.co/iat08Xob17
• Apple Podcasts: https://t.co/jOYDGtGVnt
• Transcript: https://t.co/k4zS7yOhnw
Thank you to this episode's sponsors for supporting my work:
• WorkOS: makes your app Enterprise Ready with easy to use APIs to add SSO, SCIM, RBAC, and more in just a few lines of code, check them out at https://t.co/y8noBzFEem
Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:08 - P vs NP
14:51 - What if you relaxed correctness
25:38 - Why NP complete problems are equivalent
30:33 - Space vs time complexity
43:06 - Why people use SAT solvers
45:53 - Randomness is a resource
55:48 - Randomness depends on computational power
01:21:20 - Zero knowledge proofs and their significance
01:38:30 - Quantum computation and why it matters
01:56:24 - Math vs computer science
02:08:16 - Major breakthroughs and his experience
02:12:31 - Advice for his younger self
02:14:48 - Outro
#ComplexIntegration I recommend this excellent book by Ron Gordon. If you like integrals and sums, you should have it in your collection. Each chapter contains many interesting exercises. See my reply to this post for the TOC.
My favorite book in high school was actually a four-volume set of books called "The World of Mathematics." My parents (neither of whom went to college) gave it to me as a present more than 50 years ago.
Check out this absolute master piece by Jonathan Gratus titled '' A Pictorial Introduction to Differential Geometry, Leading to Maxwell Equations in 3 Pictures'' which is available on arXiv.
To quote the author: ''When I was young, somewhere around 12, I was given a book on relativity, gravitation and cosmology. Being dyslexic I found reading the text torturous. However I really enjoyed the pictures.''
It's a short primer, full of nice figures, perfect for those who love visual examples.
If you like thinking about what math can do for biology and vice versa, you might like this public talk I gave a year ago. It contains a lot of stories from my own life. "From Math to Bio and Back: Reflections on a Two Way Street" https://t.co/TzKE3jnK29
Sonny Rollins, one of jazz's all-time greats, died Monday at the age of 95 after spending more than five decades pushing the boundaries of the genre.
Rollins won two Grammys and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in the early 2000s.
@JeffreyBrown has a look at his career.
The NY Times presents a multi-faceted look at the life and career of Sonny Rollins, featuring a biography, interviews, and essential albums: https://t.co/n46dezdEHn
Loudly celebrating 100 years of @milesdavis today!
“Miles never said much about our playing. He just wasn’t the kind of leader who gave notes or made suggestions unless we asked him to. Even then, he usually responded with cryptic comments, almost like little puzzles...
What an incredible life & legacy, the great saxophone colossus Sonny Rollins has passed away at age 95. Sonny 1st appeared on a Blue Note record date in 1949 as part of Bud Powell’s Modernists & later recorded 4 tremendous Blue Note leader albums in 1956-7 https://t.co/SVwF9WQb80
I really enjoyed Apoorva's essay. It's rare these days to hear what a *student* thinks about what's going on in AI and Math, and I highly recommend you take a look at her piece – it's thoughtful, curious, idealistic, and unmistakably human.