Andrew Krause
@blindmath.bsky.social
Chronically-Ill Nearsighted Mathematician and Amateur Human.
Co-creator of VisualPDE.com (irony!)
(he/him)
https://www.andrewkrause.org
Co-creator of VisualPDE.com (irony!)
(he/him)
https://www.andrewkrause.org
I've found Feyerabend to be very good at these pithy quotes that make you think. AFAIK his whole schtick was to say controversial things that made people think, and then to claim that this is what science is — a big dialogue requiring constant thinking and refinement of arguments.
January 13, 2026 at 5:51 PM
I've found Feyerabend to be very good at these pithy quotes that make you think. AFAIK his whole schtick was to say controversial things that made people think, and then to claim that this is what science is — a big dialogue requiring constant thinking and refinement of arguments.
Among other difficulties is that most biological things are nonequilibrium, where there is not (AFAIK) a universal definition of phases etc. Though there are lots of areas/subfields where people do use precise definitions of course; just not with the same generality as in equilibrium stat mech.
January 11, 2026 at 6:17 PM
Among other difficulties is that most biological things are nonequilibrium, where there is not (AFAIK) a universal definition of phases etc. Though there are lots of areas/subfields where people do use precise definitions of course; just not with the same generality as in equilibrium stat mech.
Possibly useful for @joshuabull.bsky.social @josh-moore.bsky.social. Josh will also give a seminar in February @darrenjw.bsky.social; it'd be good for you two to chat I think!
January 2, 2026 at 1:45 PM
Possibly useful for @joshuabull.bsky.social @josh-moore.bsky.social. Josh will also give a seminar in February @darrenjw.bsky.social; it'd be good for you two to chat I think!
So it begins again here, like the germ of a continuous function...
January 1, 2026 at 12:04 PM
So it begins again here, like the germ of a continuous function...
OK, that thread was worth unraveling!
December 31, 2025 at 7:43 PM
OK, that thread was worth unraveling!
My vision is such that I can almost always make out images that "normal sighted" people can see, as long as I bring my device close to my face. But many people with low vision like me either use screen readers or prefer text which is easier to understand than many images.
December 7, 2025 at 11:24 AM
My vision is such that I can almost always make out images that "normal sighted" people can see, as long as I bring my device close to my face. But many people with low vision like me either use screen readers or prefer text which is easier to understand than many images.
Mean-field models are often equivalent to asymptotics. Let epsilon = 1/N. Then the mean-field is like taking a variable u = u_0 + epsilon*u_1 + ... and truncating.
For even moderate values of epsilon, this approximation works well truncated to u_1 (or even u_0). Lots of caveats ofc.
For even moderate values of epsilon, this approximation works well truncated to u_1 (or even u_0). Lots of caveats ofc.
December 4, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Mean-field models are often equivalent to asymptotics. Let epsilon = 1/N. Then the mean-field is like taking a variable u = u_0 + epsilon*u_1 + ... and truncating.
For even moderate values of epsilon, this approximation works well truncated to u_1 (or even u_0). Lots of caveats ofc.
For even moderate values of epsilon, this approximation works well truncated to u_1 (or even u_0). Lots of caveats ofc.
Lots of mean-field models are "unreasonably effective" (a phrase Wigner famously popularized). In some recent work, N=40 (or even 10!) has been well-approximated by mean-field dynamics assuming N=infinity. Those examples are in ecology, but I anticipate neural fields to work similarly.
December 4, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Lots of mean-field models are "unreasonably effective" (a phrase Wigner famously popularized). In some recent work, N=40 (or even 10!) has been well-approximated by mean-field dynamics assuming N=infinity. Those examples are in ecology, but I anticipate neural fields to work similarly.
I can't take notes due to my eyesight, and didn't know you could *have someone take notes for you* until after my undergrad. This had some advantages, but means that I often now lecture in a way that isn't especially conducive to note-taking...
December 3, 2025 at 3:23 PM
I can't take notes due to my eyesight, and didn't know you could *have someone take notes for you* until after my undergrad. This had some advantages, but means that I often now lecture in a way that isn't especially conducive to note-taking...
I hope you're as OK as you can be. I can't even imagine the challenges you've faced, especially with what happened, but I do know that you have been such a force for good on this corner of the internet, at the very least.
December 1, 2025 at 12:23 AM
I hope you're as OK as you can be. I can't even imagine the challenges you've faced, especially with what happened, but I do know that you have been such a force for good on this corner of the internet, at the very least.
I would argue that anyone with control over human life (doctors, police, soldiers) should be expected to make determinations about lawful orders. Of course we should allow some human ambiguity, but users of tools of death *should* be held to high standards!
November 30, 2025 at 7:37 PM
I would argue that anyone with control over human life (doctors, police, soldiers) should be expected to make determinations about lawful orders. Of course we should allow some human ambiguity, but users of tools of death *should* be held to high standards!
I thought we all abandoned X back when it was Twitter?
...I'll see myself out.
...I'll see myself out.
November 25, 2025 at 4:42 PM
I thought we all abandoned X back when it was Twitter?
...I'll see myself out.
...I'll see myself out.
A major physiological constraint is that the extreme plasticity of our brains means that we change rapidly over our early years; we have extroardinarily limited capacity to remember anything before the ages of 3-5 for example: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childho...
November 24, 2025 at 6:56 PM
A major physiological constraint is that the extreme plasticity of our brains means that we change rapidly over our early years; we have extroardinarily limited capacity to remember anything before the ages of 3-5 for example: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childho...
I am somewhat sympathetic to many of these ideas in theory. A good friend of mine subscribes to a version of this, and is currently raising their children as independently as possible. However...
Childhood amnesia - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 24, 2025 at 6:56 PM
I am somewhat sympathetic to many of these ideas in theory. A good friend of mine subscribes to a version of this, and is currently raising their children as independently as possible. However...
There are a few related movements related to anarchist principles of making children as agentic/independent as possible. These variously go by "childism" or "child liberation" though there are lots of differences between various instances of these ideas. See also opposing "adult supremacy."
November 24, 2025 at 6:51 PM
There are a few related movements related to anarchist principles of making children as agentic/independent as possible. These variously go by "childism" or "child liberation" though there are lots of differences between various instances of these ideas. See also opposing "adult supremacy."
I think the Joint Maths Meeting is ~6,000 mathematicians, and the APS meeting is around ~15,000 physicists just to give some context.
November 24, 2025 at 11:48 AM
I think the Joint Maths Meeting is ~6,000 mathematicians, and the APS meeting is around ~15,000 physicists just to give some context.
Yeah. I've never been involved in it, but they have whole cultures around preparing for them etc.
Part of the reason is that flying someone is expensive and necessary for most in-person interviews, and these meetings are often large enough that there is high probability of people being co-located.
Part of the reason is that flying someone is expensive and necessary for most in-person interviews, and these meetings are often large enough that there is high probability of people being co-located.
November 24, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Yeah. I've never been involved in it, but they have whole cultures around preparing for them etc.
Part of the reason is that flying someone is expensive and necessary for most in-person interviews, and these meetings are often large enough that there is high probability of people being co-located.
Part of the reason is that flying someone is expensive and necessary for most in-person interviews, and these meetings are often large enough that there is high probability of people being co-located.
Job papers AFAIK do not exist in these fields at least!
November 24, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Job papers AFAIK do not exist in these fields at least!