local minimum

[keysmashbandit @keysmashbandit]

I really do believe this btw. Every time I felt really frustrated with a concept, the problem was always, every single time, resolved via familiarity. It's so true and so well known that competition math and undergrad logic books will often explicitly say it in their introduction

[local minimum @caustic_agent]

@elocinationn @BayesianNuance Regardless, math is there for you if you ever want it again. It's big and there are parts you might enjoy. Hopefully your belief in a total ordering on human cognition won't ruin it for you if you ever do, but ideally you'd get over that because it is poison nonsense

[local minimum @caustic_agent]

@elocinationn @BayesianNuance Imo this "innate ability" ideology comes more from "politicization"/particular aesthetic sensibilities about how the world works -- e.g. there's a total ordering on cognitive ability -- and also unresolved angst over experiences in university/school math courses

[local minimum @caustic_agent]

@skitterspatial It's just about clarity, √2/2 is no doubt easier to think about wrt comparisons and geometry. But this trick is taught long before you might ever see any reason for it and it follows easily from other tricks so I agree with scrapping it

[local minimum @caustic_agent]

@KrishanghArjun It is not cultural. Calling someone by a numeric code assigned by bureaucratic process / software pretty universally identifies them as fungible utility vs a person

[David Bessis @davidbessis]

"Are there people who are naturally good at math and others who are hopelessly bad at math? I don’t think so. I think everyone has an innate mathematical talent."
— Terence Tao

What’s interesting is the argument that he gives: ⤵️

[Algebraic Geometer @BarbaraFantechi]

We really should get rid of mathematics olympiads.

[David Bessis @davidbessis]

@teortaxesTex @VincentDuguay_ No.

"All problems in mathematics are psychological." — Pierrre Deligne.

[local minimum @caustic_agent]

@littmath @pointed_max As a heavy user of these things, I don't see how they could ever function as theorem provers without embedding some strict and highly constrained language with unambiguous syntax and semantics

[David Bessis @davidbessis]

Philosophers: logic is the foundation of mathematics.

Mathematicians:

[Manhattan Bird Alert @BirdCentralPark]

Astoria the Wild Turkey strikes a pose on Main Street, Roosevelt Island. Passersby recognize her and say hello, and many stop to take photos. 🦃 ❤️

[local minimum @caustic_agent]

Mostly in the ways math trains you to think about hard problems: taking care with language and meaning, noticing details, having an intuition for when certain details matter and when they don't, persistence and patience, recognizing different shapes and forms of familiar problems

[local minimum @caustic_agent]

As powerful and beautiful as it is, I don't feel that math is the unique global maximizer of human knowledge and experience. Lots of essential lessons for being human come from elsewhere. I am always surprised though at how math will creep into other areas of my life

[Armand Domalewski @ArmandDoma]

a major reason why math education is so valuable, even if you never actually work in a field using math, is that it really forces you to think in rigorous, organized, logical ways and leaves you smarter overall

[Elliot Glazer @ElliotGlazer]

When my colleague in the set theory research discord asks for projects that will improve rather than worsen set theory's public reputation:

[Manhattan Bird Alert @BirdCentralPark]

Astoria the Wild Turkey shows her gorgeous plumage in her favorite garden on Roosevelt Island. 🦃 ❤️

[local minimum @caustic_agent]

@DataDeLaurier @powerbottomdad1 @JoshuaGregory10 I'm not saying that it can't be miserable or that ppl should put up with abuse but yeesh, have a little perspective

[local minimum @caustic_agent]

@DataDeLaurier @powerbottomdad1 @JoshuaGregory10 Compare: jobs where you have to ask permission to leave early, or use the bathroom, while making approximately minimum wage (i.e. 15x less before you factor in TC). In particular: do you think these conditions don't lead to burnout?