Tim Hsu
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Tim Hsu
@timhsu.net
2.3K followers 570 following 650 posts
SJSU math prof living in SF. Too old to spend this much time on comic books and music. He/him
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Reposted by Tim Hsu
bakerdphd.bsky.social
We can't convince universities to stop hiring Gordon Gee, so I don't know how we push for there to be any consequences for betraying the country for a few research grants. But it feels like figuring that out will be necessary.
November 28, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Reposted by Tim Hsu
ufw.bsky.social
As you’re preparing for your Thanksgiving meal, remember the skilled work it took to get that food to your grocery store.

Tell us your favorite Thanksgiving dish, and we can share some of what we know about the work behind the ingredients.
November 26, 2025 at 6:03 PM
timhsu.net
I taught a class like this before, using The Heart of Mathematics (great textbook!), had a class of art majors, dancers, etc, and got the great student evaluation comment "I liked it when we learned about real life things like topology"
scgriffith.bsky.social monoidal sarah @scgriffith.bsky.social · 2d
ruin your thanksgiving by reading new york magazine's take on mathematics
The Ten Most Ridiculous-Sounding Math Classes Currently Offered at Liberal-Arts Colleges By Jessica Pressler, Janelle Zara, and Emily Watkins Rachel Stein andAviva Shen OCT. 19, 2010 Every year, liberal-arts majors anxiously scour their college's course listings looking for classes that will fulfill their math requirement but aren't so, you know, math-y. Here's what they're signed up for this year. 10. Topology: The Nature of Shape and Space: "In geometry we ask: How big is it? How long is it? But in topology we ask: Is it [Sarah Lawrence 9. The Mathematies of Chance: "Most topics are introduced ina case-study fashion, usually by reading an article in a current periodical such as the New York Times. [Bard] 8. Mathematics in Many Cultures: "Mathematical ideas are found in many cultures, among both literate and non-literate peoples. This course examines both mathematics and the role it plays in the cultures. Examples chosen from the mathematical ideas of present-day peoples of Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas, as well as historic Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Islam and China." [Pomona] 7. The Magic of Numbers: "This course will explore the beauty and mystery of mathematics through a study of the patterns and properties of the natural numbers 1, 2, [and] 3." [Harvard 6. Models of Life: In particular, we will ask such questions as: How do you model the growth of a population of animals? How can you model the growth of a tree? How do sunflowers and seashells grow?" [Kenyon] 5. Mathematical Origamist's Toolkit: "Topics include modular origami and how this models the creation of polyhedra and coloring of graphs, comparison of origami-axiomatic constructions to straight-edge and compass constructions, the combinatorics of possible crease patterns, the mathematics of origami design (circle packing, optimization), matrix models for paperfolding, spherical geometry, Descartes' Theorem, and Gaussian curvature." [Hampshire] 4. Mathematics and Narrative: "Many literary works (Arcadia, Proof, and Uncle Petros and the Goldbach Conjecture) use mathematics as an integral part of their narrative. Movie and television narratives such as Good Will Hunting and Numb3rs are also mathematically based. Nonfiction works about mathematics and mathematical biographies like Chaos, Fermat's Enigma, and A Beautiful Mind provide further examples of the connection between mathematics and narrative." [Vassar] 3. Borges and Mathematics: "Jorge Luis Borges was one of the most important writers of the 20th century. Many of his short stories and essays were concerned with philosophical, metaphysical, and mathematical questions. The thesis motivating this course is that if we know the mathematies that Borges referred to, then we will read him differently, and we will read him better." [Bennington 2. Mathematics and Science as Art in Contemporary Theatre: "Playwrights such as Tom Stoppard, Rinne Groff, Michael Frayn, and others have effectively explored mathematical and scientific themes for artistic purposes. Through readings and exercises, and by conducting labs and staging scenes, this class will gain some first-hand insight into the complementary ways in which science and art aim to seek out their respective truths." [Middlebury] 1. Meaning, Math, And Motion: "Quoting a charming articulation by Kinsman (a mathematician-turned-oceanographer, in the preface to Wind Waves): "To the beginner, science is a conversation that has been in progress for a very long time. Our collective work is to catch up on the conversation. [Evergreen] This is why Asia is winning, by the way.
November 27, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Reposted by Tim Hsu
bestalbumbrackets.bsky.social
Today!
bestalbumbrackets.bsky.social The Best Album of 1989 @bestalbumbrackets.bsky.social · 4d
TOMORROW! Witness the battle of champions as #3 seed, De La Soul, 3 FEET HIGH AND RISING takes on #1 seed, Pixies, DOOLITTLE to determine once and for all The Best Album of 1989! Vote here when the match begins at 11am CST!
On a brown background is a monotone photo of a small monkey. The monkey has a halo and is surrounded by three numbers: 5,6 and 7. The picture of the monkey has a green outline of a box around it, and within that box are green lines that make a bunch of connected shapes: squares, rectangles, circles, triangles, stars, trapezoids. etc. Black and white photos of three young Black men, arranged in a circle as if you are on the ground and they are looking down at you from above. The background is very bright yellow. There are hand drawn flower shapes in blue and orange arranged around them.
November 26, 2025 at 3:48 PM
timhsu.net
A movie that takes place where you're from
Movie poster for Stephen King's IT, child in the foreground, Pennywise and a red balloon in the background
November 24, 2025 at 2:40 AM
timhsu.net
Definitely the sentiment of the week at SJSU
darthbluesky.bsky.social darth™️ @darthbluesky.bsky.social · 8d
every week just gets weirder tbh
November 22, 2025 at 1:19 AM
timhsu.net
I discovered while making a prime playlist that this song title (taken as a single number) is also prime:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zioE...

Alas, 7779313 = 23 x 338231, close but no cigar
November 21, 2025 at 5:04 AM
Reposted by Tim Hsu
slotkin.senate.gov
We want to speak directly to members of the Military and the Intelligence Community.

The American people need you to stand up for our laws and our Constitution.

Don’t give up the ship.
November 18, 2025 at 1:31 PM
timhsu.net
TIL

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhL8...
Devo - Head Like a Hole
YouTube video by MsAnonn
www.youtube.com
November 18, 2025 at 9:57 PM
timhsu.net
Update: That monkey is a menace (complimentary)
timhsu.net Tim Hsu @timhsu.net · 13d
Pregame show at Monkey King, SF Opera
Lion dancers in lobby before the opera
November 17, 2025 at 12:55 AM
timhsu.net
Pregame show at Monkey King, SF Opera
Lion dancers in lobby before the opera
November 16, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Reposted by Tim Hsu
revdrmichaelwoolf.bsky.social
I wanted to share probably the most important sermon I’ve given and it’s while I’m being arrested. It’s torture pure and simple what happens at #Broadview. I’m ok, though I was thrown to the ground and choked with my pectoral cross. A review of the video shows I was peaceful - did I deserve this?
November 15, 2025 at 5:57 AM
timhsu.net
Me: NOOOOOO THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS

Also me: Dinklage as Columbo?

...

OK I'm not dismissing it out of hand
November 13, 2025 at 9:30 PM
timhsu.net
Criminal.

Also: Why didn't any other news orgs do this
November 13, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Reposted by Tim Hsu
robb.stankey.me
Sarah Kendzior's response: substack.com/@sarahkendzi...
I was suspended from BlueSky for defending the honor of Johnny Cash. I wish I were joking. In early October, I referenced the “I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die” lyric of “Folsom Prison Blues” in response to a terrible Wall Street Journal article saying that Johnny Cash was uncool. I quote-tweeted the article and everyone understood the reference. There was no outcry. I stand by my assessment that Johnny Cash is cool. I do not like being the subject of so much attention, especially when I cannot see the discussion. But the BlueSky admins are now claiming that I wrote a post saying, out of nowhere, “I want to shoot the author of this article just to watch him die”. They are not posting a screenshot of the actual tweet, which shows that I am quote-tweeting an article about Johnny Cash, and that my post is obviously not a threat but a play on “Folsom Prison Blues.” BlueSky is lying and saying I posted this line on November 10. I did not. I posted it in early October, when the WSJ article came out. You can see that they are lying about the date from this page showing my last BlueSky tweets: I was not given any explanation for my suspension the first two times I inquired. Later I was told it was for the “Folsom Prison Blues” reference, and I asked for clarification but did not receive it. I thought it might be a prank until a reporter reached out this morning and confirmed it. BlueSky’s behavior is bizarre and unwarranted. I have lost access to friends and all my posts and photos. I am incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support here on Substack and also on BlueSky — though I cannot see it, because I am suspended. To quote another Johnny Cash song: "I ain’t never done nothin' to nobody/ I ain’t never got nothin’ from nobody, no time/ And until I get somethin' from somebody, sometime, I don't intend to do nothin' for nobody, no time." As for BlueSky…
November 12, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Reposted by Tim Hsu
joshtpm.bsky.social
Not that anyone has any free brain space to focus on the future of the Republic this morning. But I put together this short piece on how to figure out which Senators should be purged from Congress. talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-s...
The Status Interview – Or How To Write Up a Senate Purge List
Over the last couple days I’ve argued both that the denouement of...
talkingpointsmemo.com
November 12, 2025 at 4:44 PM
timhsu.net
good God yes
November 12, 2025 at 12:45 AM
timhsu.net
The world is back to being trash but at least dinner (mapo tofu and garlic pea shoots) came out ok last night
Two woks: on left, mapo tofu, on right, pea shoots with garlic
November 10, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Reposted by Tim Hsu
brittanytrang.com
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.

Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."

Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:39 PM
timhsu.net
Explains many things
enbuenora.bsky.social En Buen Ora @enbuenora.bsky.social · 21d
AOC helpfully explains why what MTG is doing with her seeming new dissidence:

She's pissed that Trump told her she couldn't be the Trump choice to run for Senate in Georgia.

(I'm sure you can also find it direct on TikTok.)

www.youtube.com/shorts/tkWlp...
AOC spills the tea about Marjorie Taylor Greene
YouTube video by Brian Tyler Cohen
www.youtube.com
November 8, 2025 at 4:54 PM
timhsu.net
Also pouring one out for Rosalind Franklin
dreadships.bsky.social Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 22d
Raising a glass for Rosalind Franklin tonight. James Watson absolutely did her dirty.

But beware...
Rosalind Franklin at her microscope
November 7, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Reposted by Tim Hsu
petridishes.bsky.social
Did Women Ruin The Workplace
Adam and Eve under an apple tree with a snake sort of peering down at them
November 7, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Reposted by Tim Hsu
escapedexplorer.bsky.social
"World's first potential trillionaire has killed 600,000 people, including 400,000 children" is the only headline that anyone should ever read about Elon Musk
newyorker.com The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 23d
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 7, 2025 at 1:33 AM
Reposted by Tim Hsu
atrupar.com
incredible photo that's definitely worth at least 1,000 words from Andrew Harnik of Getty
November 6, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Reposted by Tim Hsu
ryanjreilly.com
BREAKING: JUSTICE DEPARTMENT EATS A LOSS IN 'SANDWICH GUY' CASE AS JURORS FIND DEFENDANT NOT GUILTY www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
Jury acquits D.C. 'sandwich guy' charged with chucking a sub at a federal agent
Sean Dunn faced single misdemeanor offense after federal grand jurors refused to indict him on the felony charge sought by prosecutors.
www.nbcnews.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:27 PM