Tien Chih
@tienchihmath.bsky.social
Assistant Professor of Mathematics at
Oxford College of Emory University. Father & Husband. Wannabe Cook. I like to teach/do/spread math as I can. https://linopt.tienchih.org/ (He/His)
Oxford College of Emory University. Father & Husband. Wannabe Cook. I like to teach/do/spread math as I can. https://linopt.tienchih.org/ (He/His)
Pinned
Tien Chih
@tienchihmath.bsky.social
· Oct 23
Hi followers! I'm Tien Chih and I'm an Assist. Prof of Math at Oxford College of Emory. My research is about the intersections of homotopy theory and combinatorics. Just as importantly, things I'm into are undergrad research, IBL, alt grading, and supporting math teaching with tech.
Reposted by Tien Chih
Project update:
Tanya and I have been writing up the results of this project and we've realized that all of the knots in this class of patterns are at most 6 "tangle moves" from each other and at most three tangle moves from what we're calling the "great-great-granny knot" (see alt text).
Tanya and I have been writing up the results of this project and we've realized that all of the knots in this class of patterns are at most 6 "tangle moves" from each other and at most three tangle moves from what we're calling the "great-great-granny knot" (see alt text).
January 30, 2026 at 1:18 PM
Project update:
Tanya and I have been writing up the results of this project and we've realized that all of the knots in this class of patterns are at most 6 "tangle moves" from each other and at most three tangle moves from what we're calling the "great-great-granny knot" (see alt text).
Tanya and I have been writing up the results of this project and we've realized that all of the knots in this class of patterns are at most 6 "tangle moves" from each other and at most three tangle moves from what we're calling the "great-great-granny knot" (see alt text).
Reposted by Tien Chih
Lots of fun at the first #MaPPChallenge this year across the country, here in Mobile, AL hosted by SouthAlabama.edu and Bishop.edu!
Learn how to bring fun math research inspired puzzles to your campus at MaPPmath.org!
Learn how to bring fun math research inspired puzzles to your campus at MaPPmath.org!
January 30, 2026 at 4:25 PM
Lots of fun at the first #MaPPChallenge this year across the country, here in Mobile, AL hosted by SouthAlabama.edu and Bishop.edu!
Learn how to bring fun math research inspired puzzles to your campus at MaPPmath.org!
Learn how to bring fun math research inspired puzzles to your campus at MaPPmath.org!
Reposted by Tien Chih
January 30, 2026 at 5:01 AM
Reposted by Tien Chih
The biggest risk in this moment is something sociologists call “symbolic compliance.”
That’s when an institution that is violating civil rights gives the public just enough symbolic victories that accountability efforts lose steam before there has been any meaningful change.
That’s when an institution that is violating civil rights gives the public just enough symbolic victories that accountability efforts lose steam before there has been any meaningful change.
January 26, 2026 at 11:35 PM
The biggest risk in this moment is something sociologists call “symbolic compliance.”
That’s when an institution that is violating civil rights gives the public just enough symbolic victories that accountability efforts lose steam before there has been any meaningful change.
That’s when an institution that is violating civil rights gives the public just enough symbolic victories that accountability efforts lose steam before there has been any meaningful change.
Reposted by Tien Chih
My self-evaluation is due Friday, so instead I figured out how to use the 'network' features of PreFigure to draw commutative diagrams in #PreTeXt. prefigure.org/docs/sec-net...
January 27, 2026 at 3:23 PM
My self-evaluation is due Friday, so instead I figured out how to use the 'network' features of PreFigure to draw commutative diagrams in #PreTeXt. prefigure.org/docs/sec-net...
If CNN reporters don't know the word sycophant, it would explain a lot.
Now I want to know which CNN reporter or producer doesn't know the word "sycophant."
January 27, 2026 at 1:05 AM
If CNN reporters don't know the word sycophant, it would explain a lot.
Reposted by Tien Chih
Petition: Christopher Havens is an inmate in the Washington state prison system who has been collaborating on mathematics with people both inside and outside prison. He was recommended for clemency by the parole board. However, governor Bob Ferguson has not granted it yet. (link below)
January 26, 2026 at 2:03 PM
Petition: Christopher Havens is an inmate in the Washington state prison system who has been collaborating on mathematics with people both inside and outside prison. He was recommended for clemency by the parole board. However, governor Bob Ferguson has not granted it yet. (link below)
Reposted by Tien Chih
To all who teach matrices/linear algebra, I highly recommend vol. 24, issue 1 (Jan. 1993) of The College Mathematics Journal, a special issue dedicated to the teaching of linear algebra. Different ways of interpreting matrix multiplication is one of the themes of the issue.
Teaching matrix mult, noticed that I mentally pick up the rows in the first and align them with the columns in the second before multiplying and adding, realised that that is actually the wrong way round: it makes more sense to pick up the columns in the second and align with the rows in the first.
January 25, 2026 at 5:49 PM
To all who teach matrices/linear algebra, I highly recommend vol. 24, issue 1 (Jan. 1993) of The College Mathematics Journal, a special issue dedicated to the teaching of linear algebra. Different ways of interpreting matrix multiplication is one of the themes of the issue.
Reposted by Tien Chih
The dead man was a Minnesotan filming on a Minnesota street.
The ICE and Border Patrol agents were flown to the state en masse to round up black and brown people at random, "injecting themselves where they do not need to be."
The ICE and Border Patrol agents were flown to the state en masse to round up black and brown people at random, "injecting themselves where they do not need to be."
BASH: It feels like we're in the upside down where we have law enforcement and conservatives who are very pro-Second Amendment saying the problem was he had a gun legally
BOVINO: No. The problem is he injected himself, he put himself where he did not need to be
BOVINO: No. The problem is he injected himself, he put himself where he did not need to be
January 25, 2026 at 2:44 PM
The dead man was a Minnesotan filming on a Minnesota street.
The ICE and Border Patrol agents were flown to the state en masse to round up black and brown people at random, "injecting themselves where they do not need to be."
The ICE and Border Patrol agents were flown to the state en masse to round up black and brown people at random, "injecting themselves where they do not need to be."
Me: *looking through shoes on Netflix*
👹: “Oh, Bojack Horseman, he’s cool right?”
Me: “………………………NO.”
👹: “Oh, Bojack Horseman, he’s cool right?”
Me: “………………………NO.”
January 25, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Me: *looking through shoes on Netflix*
👹: “Oh, Bojack Horseman, he’s cool right?”
Me: “………………………NO.”
👹: “Oh, Bojack Horseman, he’s cool right?”
Me: “………………………NO.”
Mya slipped a bit on the patio stairs going into the yard, then she looked back at me like *I* put the ice there.
January 25, 2026 at 1:12 PM
Mya slipped a bit on the patio stairs going into the yard, then she looked back at me like *I* put the ice there.
Reposted by Tien Chih
once again startling how people who ostensibly believe in the so-called "right to bear arms" also simultaneously profess to believe the directly contradictory belief that carrying a firearm is sufficient grounds for summary execution
January 24, 2026 at 8:31 PM
once again startling how people who ostensibly believe in the so-called "right to bear arms" also simultaneously profess to believe the directly contradictory belief that carrying a firearm is sufficient grounds for summary execution
Reposted by Tien Chih
As the semester picks up, if there are elements in your courses you would like to be free/accessible/interactive, then #PreTeXtGang may be your answer! Please join me, @chrissysafranski.bsky.social @clontz.org and @oscarlevin.com 12-1 Eastern each ThF for drop-in office hours! mathtech.org/events/
Events
Showcasing open-source technologies that innovate mathematics education and communication.
mathtech.org
January 21, 2026 at 5:48 PM
As the semester picks up, if there are elements in your courses you would like to be free/accessible/interactive, then #PreTeXtGang may be your answer! Please join me, @chrissysafranski.bsky.social @clontz.org and @oscarlevin.com 12-1 Eastern each ThF for drop-in office hours! mathtech.org/events/
Reposted by Tien Chih
I'm new to codespaces. So new that I just figured out that ⌘+→ will take me to the end of the tag I'm currently writing. What other tricks should I learn?
Is everyone's github codespace for #PreTeXt projects called 'supreme disco' or am I just really lucky?
January 23, 2026 at 4:40 PM
I'm new to codespaces. So new that I just figured out that ⌘+→ will take me to the end of the tag I'm currently writing. What other tricks should I learn?
Reposted by Tien Chih
They like cops so much that all we’re getting is cops. No roads, no bridges, no school funding, no culture money, just a bouquet of different types of cops
January 22, 2026 at 9:56 PM
They like cops so much that all we’re getting is cops. No roads, no bridges, no school funding, no culture money, just a bouquet of different types of cops
Reposted by Tien Chih
One of the reasons I am so insistent that everyone remember that only 22% of the US population voted for Trump is that the Christian Nationalists want the myth of a mandate in circulation.
We need to reject it. They never had a mandate, and their coalition is shrinking.
We need to reject it. They never had a mandate, and their coalition is shrinking.
The new NYT poll finds Trump 17 points underwater on immigration, and the nonwhite and young voters who went to Trump in 2024 have snapped back to Dems
It's almost as if 2024 might not have represented a seismic cultural realignment on immigration after all, despite 1,000 NYT op eds to the contrary
It's almost as if 2024 might not have represented a seismic cultural realignment on immigration after all, despite 1,000 NYT op eds to the contrary
January 22, 2026 at 5:17 PM
One of the reasons I am so insistent that everyone remember that only 22% of the US population voted for Trump is that the Christian Nationalists want the myth of a mandate in circulation.
We need to reject it. They never had a mandate, and their coalition is shrinking.
We need to reject it. They never had a mandate, and their coalition is shrinking.
Reposted by Tien Chih
My newest paper about defining sandwiches is out!
@drew-lewis.com @sbagley.bsky.social @annemho.bsky.social Mary, Jessica, Bill, @matthematics.com Kate, Sarah
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
@drew-lewis.com @sbagley.bsky.social @annemho.bsky.social Mary, Jessica, Bill, @matthematics.com Kate, Sarah
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Humanizing Defining in Mathematics with Sandwiches
This paper discusses multiple versions of an activity in which participants create, discuss, and analyze possible definitions of the term “sandwich.” This activity has helped us humanize mathematic...
www.tandfonline.com
January 22, 2026 at 8:30 PM
My newest paper about defining sandwiches is out!
@drew-lewis.com @sbagley.bsky.social @annemho.bsky.social Mary, Jessica, Bill, @matthematics.com Kate, Sarah
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
@drew-lewis.com @sbagley.bsky.social @annemho.bsky.social Mary, Jessica, Bill, @matthematics.com Kate, Sarah
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Tien Chih
Sometimes I see folks arguing that Noether's role is overstated, that it's some sort of revisionist history for folks concerned with equality and social justice. Nope! She just did the work before her colleagues and didn't get her due until much later. (7/n)
January 22, 2026 at 4:20 PM
Sometimes I see folks arguing that Noether's role is overstated, that it's some sort of revisionist history for folks concerned with equality and social justice. Nope! She just did the work before her colleagues and didn't get her due until much later. (7/n)
Reposted by Tien Chih
Felix Klein lectured “On Hilbert’s first note on the foundations of physics" at the Mathematical Society of Göttingen #OTD in 1918. He included excerpts from letters in which he and Hilbert give priority to Emmy Noether’s results on conservation of energy in general relativity. (1/n) 🧪 ⚛️ 👩🔬
January 22, 2026 at 4:07 PM
Felix Klein lectured “On Hilbert’s first note on the foundations of physics" at the Mathematical Society of Göttingen #OTD in 1918. He included excerpts from letters in which he and Hilbert give priority to Emmy Noether’s results on conservation of energy in general relativity. (1/n) 🧪 ⚛️ 👩🔬
Reposted by Tien Chih
"Should we vote to give more money to the people shooting my constituents in the face?" is not a complicated political question. And yet, Democrats don't seem able to answer it.
January 22, 2026 at 1:05 AM
"Should we vote to give more money to the people shooting my constituents in the face?" is not a complicated political question. And yet, Democrats don't seem able to answer it.
Reposted by Tien Chih
The short answer is that as a language, it doesn't. It makes lots of things easy but authors still have to take care (one notable example is that PreTeXt doesn't enforce images having alt text).
The best reading I have found on what PreTeXt does automatically vs. what authors need to do is here
The best reading I have found on what PreTeXt does automatically vs. what authors need to do is here
Accessibility
pretextbook.org
January 21, 2026 at 7:11 PM
The short answer is that as a language, it doesn't. It makes lots of things easy but authors still have to take care (one notable example is that PreTeXt doesn't enforce images having alt text).
The best reading I have found on what PreTeXt does automatically vs. what authors need to do is here
The best reading I have found on what PreTeXt does automatically vs. what authors need to do is here
As the semester picks up, if there are elements in your courses you would like to be free/accessible/interactive, then #PreTeXtGang may be your answer! Please join me, @chrissysafranski.bsky.social @clontz.org and @oscarlevin.com 12-1 Eastern each ThF for drop-in office hours! mathtech.org/events/
Events
Showcasing open-source technologies that innovate mathematics education and communication.
mathtech.org
January 21, 2026 at 5:48 PM
As the semester picks up, if there are elements in your courses you would like to be free/accessible/interactive, then #PreTeXtGang may be your answer! Please join me, @chrissysafranski.bsky.social @clontz.org and @oscarlevin.com 12-1 Eastern each ThF for drop-in office hours! mathtech.org/events/
Reposted by Tien Chih
I have some bad news. One, if you need to use ChatGPT for your graduate application letter, you are not ready for graduate school.
Two, no, not "everyone is doing it" and those who don't do it aren't "losing out." ChatGPT is not an advantage.
Two, no, not "everyone is doing it" and those who don't do it aren't "losing out." ChatGPT is not an advantage.
An impressive number of graduate applications this year used the phrase “curiosity-driven approach” 🤔
January 17, 2026 at 10:46 PM
I have some bad news. One, if you need to use ChatGPT for your graduate application letter, you are not ready for graduate school.
Two, no, not "everyone is doing it" and those who don't do it aren't "losing out." ChatGPT is not an advantage.
Two, no, not "everyone is doing it" and those who don't do it aren't "losing out." ChatGPT is not an advantage.
This is for something else, but it's worth noting that apparently Fat Tuesday and Chinese New Year are on the same day, and I have the opportunity to cook something truly unhinged.
Friends (especially @drew-lewis.com), recommend me a gumbo recipe! TIA
January 18, 2026 at 3:24 AM
This is for something else, but it's worth noting that apparently Fat Tuesday and Chinese New Year are on the same day, and I have the opportunity to cook something truly unhinged.
Friends (especially @drew-lewis.com), recommend me a gumbo recipe! TIA
January 17, 2026 at 11:16 PM
Friends (especially @drew-lewis.com), recommend me a gumbo recipe! TIA