@ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar

ColinTheMathmo

@[email protected]

Fulltime freelance provider of outreach and enhancement in maths ... I talk a lot. About maths.

I talk about other stuff too, like ballroom dancing, juggling, unicycling, education, engineering, software, and "other things".

But mostly about maths.

I tend to follow back, but only if you have something in your profile.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. View on remote instance

@ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar ColinTheMathmo , to random

"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." -- William Bruce Cameron

@ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar ColinTheMathmo , to random

People have been telling me that while ChatGPT and other "AI"s can't reason, they can at least be great search engines. They have (illegally) slurped all of the internet, and can find things that you otherwise wouldn't be able to find.

So I thought I'd test this.

1/n

ColinTheMathmo OP ,
@ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar

In the Foundation series by Asimov there's a character who is interested in archaeology and talks about his research. This is then held up as an example of the decline of civilisation ... so I asked ChatGPT:

"Hi ... in the Foundation trilogy by asimov there is an archaeologist who talks about weighing up the merits of earlier authors, but says it would be stupid to go and examine the original material for himself. Which book is that in?"

The response:

2/n

ColinTheMathmo OP ,
@ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar

ChatGPT: "You’re thinking of Foundation and Empire, the second book of the original Foundation trilogy.

"The character is Ebling Mis. He’s usually described as a psychologist and historian (often loosely remembered as an archaeologist because of how he studies the past), and there’s a scene where he talks about evaluating earlier historians’ work rather than going back to primary sources himself. He explicitly argues that it would be pointless—or even foolish—to try to re-examine the original material directly, because later scholars have already done that work and synthesized it.

"That moment fits perfectly with Asimov’s ongoing theme: the danger of over-reliance on received knowledge and academic consensus, especially when dealing with something as slippery as the Second Foundation."

Full, complete, coherent, convincing ...

And wrong.

3/n

@ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar ColinTheMathmo , to random

"You don't educate people by telling them useful things; you educate people by telling them interesting things" -- John Conway

@ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar ColinTheMathmo , to random

Apparently in Italian there is a word for:

"Men of retirement age who spend their time watching construction sites, especially roadworks – stereotypically with hands clasped behind their back and offering unrequested advice to the workers."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umarell

@ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar ColinTheMathmo , to random

Something our minister said yesterday made me look up a quotation, and once again, "AI" shows just how reliable it is. With a stray "W" in the quotation it gets attributed to one writer, and without it the quotation gets attributed to someone else entirely.

Don't. Trust. "AI".

Screenshot showing "AI" "Search" attributing the same quotation to two different authors. The first search has "We've" with an upper case "W", the second has a lower case "w". -------- Results for who said salvation is realising that We've already been accepted (without quotes): Al Overview The quote, "salvation is realising that We've already been accepted, is often attributed to British philosopher and writer Alan Watts. -------- Results for who said salvation is realising that we've already been accepted (without quotes): Al Overview The quote “salvation is realising that we've already been accepted" is often attributed to the Christian author and speaker Brennan Manning.
ALT
@ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar ColinTheMathmo , to random

"I once absent-mindedly ordered Three Mile Island dressing in a restaurant and, with great presence of mind, they brought Thousand Island Dressing and a bottle of chilli sauce." -- Terry Pratchett

@ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar ColinTheMathmo , to random

"You don't understand anything until you learn it more than one way." -- Marvin Minsky

@ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar ColinTheMathmo , to random

Things are getting better ...

https://x.com/CrazyVibes_1/status/1990356727649460342

I'll quote it in full here:

1/n

ColinTheMathmo OP ,
@ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar

The school counselor called me in last Tuesday because my son was crocheting during lunch instead of playing basketball. She had this concerned look, the one that says "we need to talk about your child's social development," and I knew exactly where this was going. He's been with me for eight months now, my adopted son, and apparently spending his free time making potholders instead of throwing balls is some kind of red flag.

I wanted to scream at her that for fifteen years in the system, he learned to hide every single thing that made him happy because someone always had an opinion. But I just sat there, hands folded, while she suggested "more masculine activities" like sports or coding club. When I got home, he was at the dining room table surrounded by yellow and burgundy circles, his fingers moving so fast with that hook I could barely track the stitches. He'd been watching tutorials again, the grandmother from Kansas who teaches traditional patterns, and he'd made eight trivets without me even noticing.

2/n

@ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar ColinTheMathmo , to random

Hello all,

I have a friend who has been on mastodon.social for a while but is looking to become more active. I've suggested they move to a different instance, but now we are both wondering what instance would be a good one for them.

They say they are here for and ... they are a performer and performance-designer ...

Any suggestions? Are there any helpful sites for choosing an instance? I have my own, so I've not had this issue.

If you're comfortable, boosts would be welcome.

Thanks in advance!

ColinTheMathmo OP ,
@ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar

Follow-up question ...

Assuming I do get lots of advice and suggestions ... where should it all be documented for next time?

Thx.

ColinTheMathmo OP ,
@ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar

@FediTips It's on the list of things to check out ... thank you!

@ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar ColinTheMathmo , to random

I'm in a podcast!

https://plutopia.io/colin-wright-juggling-mathematics/

Feedback welcome, but do be kind ...

@ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar ColinTheMathmo , to random

“Wouldn’t the sentence ‘I want to put a hyphen between the words Fish and And and And and Chips in my Fish-And-Chips sign’ have been clearer if quotation marks had been placed before Fish, and between Fish and and, and and and And, and And and and, and and and And, and And and and, and and and Chips, as well as after Chips?”

-- Martin Gardner, Aha! Insight

@ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar ColinTheMathmo , to random

Taking a moment to remember Martin Gardner on what would have been his one hundred and eleventh birthday.

Thank you Martin for so many fabulous ideas, for connecting so many people to each other and to those ideas, and for a wonderful afternoon in your company.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Gardner

Ron Graham said of him, "Martin has turned thousands of children into mathematicians and thousands of mathematicians into children."

@ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar ColinTheMathmo , to random

"When I was young I didn't know much about being a teacher. But after years of hard work, I am no longer young." -- Julia Dweck

@ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar ColinTheMathmo , to random

Research shows that 6 out of 7 dwarves are not Happy, and over 14% of them are actually Grumpy.

@ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar ColinTheMathmo , to random

"Fox News did to our parents what our parents were afraid video games would do to us." -- Stephen King

@ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar ColinTheMathmo , to random

If you are unfamiliar with the Quakers, also known as "The Society of Friends", you might not realise just how ... direct ... this language is. It feels so mild, but I can feel them vibrating with anger.

https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/re-statement-of-policy-on-provision-of-trans-inclusive-facilities

@ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar ColinTheMathmo , to random

Reminder: the UK's emergency alert system will be tested at about 3pm today. If you have a secret phone, turn it off or place it into aircraft mode before then. Putting it into silent mode will not stop the alert from sounding.

Please boost for reach. As I post this it's just over 3 hours away, and many people are unaware.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpw15l5n78jo

@ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar ColinTheMathmo , to random

"Mathematics is not a careful march down a well-cleared highway, but a journey into a strange wilderness, where the explorers often get lost." -- W.S. Anglin

@_elena@mastodon.social avatar _elena , to random

[Thread, post or comment was deleted by the author]

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    ColinTheMathmo ,
    @ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar

    @_elena This is a really good question. If they block the entire .social TLD then I rally don't know how they can be reading your post, even though they are on a different instance.

    Their snark is completely mis-placed, and this is a perfectly reasonable thing for you to have asked.

    And I don't know the answer. Maybe they meant they they would be fine with blocking the .social TLD, but currently don't. Their instance doesn't (they say).

    So maybe their point was that they'd be OK with blocking .social, but they currently don't do so.

    I don't know. But their reply was deeply unhelpful, and equally unpleasant.

    @virtuosew@pixelfed.art avatar virtuosew , to random

    A somewhat recursive still life today, as I prepare for an exhibition...

    Sepia toned sketch of hammer, screwdriver, and a card of mirror plates.
    ALT
    ColinTheMathmo ,
    @ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar

    @virtuosew Always learning, always working, always practising.

    @mcc@mastodon.social avatar mcc , to random

    Tired of arguments about the word "guys" being gendered? Want a universally-understood plural noun to replace it with? Well let me introduce you to a new banger from the same regiolect that brought you "y'all":

    "folks"

    ColinTheMathmo ,
    @ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar

    @mcc Depending on context, I also use "peeps".

    @ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar ColinTheMathmo , to random
    @ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar ColinTheMathmo , to random

    Seen elsewhere ...

    Someone looking at a reconstruction of Babbage's Difference Engine. First frame: Babbage never foresaw the terrible consequences of his invention -- Second frame: ... a machine that would auto-correct his name to "Cabbage" every time.
    ALT
    @ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar ColinTheMathmo , to random

    News about a new, open-access journal covering original work in the intersection of mathematics and fibre/fiber arts.

    Details are on the website :

    https://interlace-journal.org

    Looks intriguing!

    This definitely needs to get outside my bubble, so boosts are especially welcome, and if people can suggest more hashtags, that would be great.

    More hashtags suggested ... adding here as an edit ... not all are applicable, but ... who knows!


    Thank you for your indulgence ...

    @ChuckMcManis@chaos.social avatar ChuckMcManis , to random

    And now I'm looking at dithering. It's a classic turn a binary choice into an analog "equivalent" while pushing the noise out beyond a point where a filter will take care of it.

    Problem statement: you can generate frequencies F1 and F2 but want a frequency F3 that is between the two. How to switch back and forth to get an average of F3 while keeping the "noise" of switching below the noise floor. (45+ dB down)

    ColinTheMathmo ,
    @ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar

    @ChuckMcManis Do you mean "mode" or do you want the value to average out to a specific value "p"?

    You can have your function generate "1" for a proportion P of the time, then the other N(1-P) times it generates "0". That would seem to do what you want.

    ColinTheMathmo ,
    @ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar

    @ChuckMcManis So, for example, use a random number generator "R" that generates a "float" in the range [0,1]. Then if that's below P output "1", if it's greater than P then output "0".

    I can provide python code, I'm just not sure if this is answering the question you intend.

    @AnarchoNinaWrites@jorts.horse avatar AnarchoNinaWrites , to random

    Just gonna sit here singing Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" under my breath until nuclear fallout takes me...

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/may/06/pakistan-india-attacks-kashmir-live-updates

    ColinTheMathmo ,
    @ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar

    @AnarchoNinaWrites Quoting Tom Lehrer. ..

    "And we will all go together when we go,
    All suffused with an incandescent glow ..."

    @ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar ColinTheMathmo , to random

    "When small men begin to cast big shadows, it means that the sun is about to set." -- Lin Yutang

    @ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar ColinTheMathmo , to random

    This is astonishing ... a judge in a case where the defendent is the US Government saying:

    "the Court is left with little confidence that the defense can be trusted to tell the truth about anything"

    It is now clear to the Court that the omissions from the first declaration rendered it to be highly misleading, if not intentionally false. Defendants’ initial effort to persuade the Court in their opposition that employees were hard at work on their statutory duties even after they were ordered to stand down on February 10 has been shown to be unreliable and inconsistent with the agency's own contemporaneous records, and the defendants” eleventh hour attempt to suggest immediately before the hearing that the stop work order was not really a stop work order at all was so disingenuous that the Court is left with little confidence that the defense can be trusted to tell the truth about anything
    ALT
    @ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz avatar ColinTheMathmo , to random

    "Ever realize how surreal reading a book actually is? You stare at marked slices of trees for hours on end, hallucinating vividly." -- @KatieOldham on X, 2014/12/09 (Status 542348626711019520)