Fenner Tanswell
@fennert.bsky.social
Philosopher of Mathematics and Logic working at TU Berlin. Also into epistemology, science, Xphi and the philosophy of extinction. Flightfree and carfree fennertanswell.com
So. Never let your guard down.
October 30, 2025 at 11:47 AM
So. Never let your guard down.
I was stuck on a computer game (Blue Prince, it's really good) that has a lot of puzzles that are quite tricky. I'd been playing with my son, and it was getting a bit frustrating not making progress.
October 30, 2025 at 11:47 AM
I was stuck on a computer game (Blue Prince, it's really good) that has a lot of puzzles that are quite tricky. I'd been playing with my son, and it was getting a bit frustrating not making progress.
The new issue of Synthese emails bizarrely always load the first image from each article. Today, finally, this paid off.
August 28, 2025 at 8:11 PM
The new issue of Synthese emails bizarrely always load the first image from each article. Today, finally, this paid off.
@garymarcus.bsky.social got Imagen 4 to draw and label the parts of a bike. The image gets funnier the longer you look.
June 26, 2025 at 7:10 PM
@garymarcus.bsky.social got Imagen 4 to draw and label the parts of a bike. The image gets funnier the longer you look.
A poster for our Symposium on Phil. Math. and Epistemology on the 11th July at the TU Berlin.
June 26, 2025 at 1:47 PM
A poster for our Symposium on Phil. Math. and Epistemology on the 11th July at the TU Berlin.
Did you know I'm in a computer game? At least, my name is, but actually named after me! Here seen quizzing an unscrupulous politician. #TechnoBanter
June 5, 2025 at 8:07 AM
Did you know I'm in a computer game? At least, my name is, but actually named after me! Here seen quizzing an unscrupulous politician. #TechnoBanter
Would you let pharmaceutical companies do this to your kids?
March 28, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Would you let pharmaceutical companies do this to your kids?
Found my wee book in a bookshop for the first time ever!
March 24, 2025 at 9:31 AM
Found my wee book in a bookshop for the first time ever!
Thanks Sara! That sounds amazing. In part, I was interested because I wrote a little bit about this before for rigour in maths.
March 11, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Thanks Sara! That sounds amazing. In part, I was interested because I wrote a little bit about this before for rigour in maths.
Over the weekend, I joined colleagues and students at the protest march against Berlin spending cuts. The TU Berlin buildings are in a horrific state of disrepair, yet the CDU-led government has reneged on vital funding for building and renovations.
February 24, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Over the weekend, I joined colleagues and students at the protest march against Berlin spending cuts. The TU Berlin buildings are in a horrific state of disrepair, yet the CDU-led government has reneged on vital funding for building and renovations.
January 15, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Ultimately, we won't know the answer. The closest to textual correspondence are their comments on language dynamics and statics in maths.
December 6, 2024 at 1:15 PM
Ultimately, we won't know the answer. The closest to textual correspondence are their comments on language dynamics and statics in maths.
Even cooler, the archive contains a copy of Kneebone's papers with Lakatos's underlinings and marginalia. So we know that Lakatos read Kneebone's work.
December 6, 2024 at 1:15 PM
Even cooler, the archive contains a copy of Kneebone's papers with Lakatos's underlinings and marginalia. So we know that Lakatos read Kneebone's work.
The Lakatos archives contain correspondence between Kneebone and Lakatos between 1962 and 1969, about parallel logic seminars, grading, chairing talks, and comments by Kneebone on Lakatos's 1962 paper "Infinite Regress and the Foundation of Mathematics".
December 6, 2024 at 1:15 PM
The Lakatos archives contain correspondence between Kneebone and Lakatos between 1962 and 1969, about parallel logic seminars, grading, chairing talks, and comments by Kneebone on Lakatos's 1962 paper "Infinite Regress and the Foundation of Mathematics".
Amazingly, this paper outlines a whole "dialectical" philosophy of mathematics, as carried out by Lakatos in Proofs and Refutations, but a decade before Lakatos wrote this as his PhD. This already is an exciting find for the history of the mathematical practice turn.
December 6, 2024 at 1:15 PM
Amazingly, this paper outlines a whole "dialectical" philosophy of mathematics, as carried out by Lakatos in Proofs and Refutations, but a decade before Lakatos wrote this as his PhD. This already is an exciting find for the history of the mathematical practice turn.
At some point in the recent past, I thought a journal information system was redundant as they already had my info, so didn't need to be filled out seriously.
October 25, 2024 at 7:31 AM
At some point in the recent past, I thought a journal information system was redundant as they already had my info, so didn't need to be filled out seriously.
When you make the logic exercise set tricky, but then have to write up the model solutions yourself.
November 8, 2023 at 9:43 AM
When you make the logic exercise set tricky, but then have to write up the model solutions yourself.
If anyone would like to attend, you can ask Daniel Isaacson for the meeting link by email.
October 11, 2023 at 9:25 AM
If anyone would like to attend, you can ask Daniel Isaacson for the meeting link by email.
Broadly we replicated existing findings that it's a bit of both.
More interestingly, CJ gives very fine-grained information about people's relative judgements.
More interestingly, CJ gives very fine-grained information about people's relative judgements.
October 6, 2023 at 9:04 AM
Broadly we replicated existing findings that it's a bit of both.
More interestingly, CJ gives very fine-grained information about people's relative judgements.
More interestingly, CJ gives very fine-grained information about people's relative judgements.
Comparative judgement has participants making binary choices between prompts.
With enough judgements from enough judges, you can form a weighted ranking of prompts, as well as measure agreement between participants.
With enough judgements from enough judges, you can form a weighted ranking of prompts, as well as measure agreement between participants.
October 6, 2023 at 9:02 AM
Comparative judgement has participants making binary choices between prompts.
With enough judgements from enough judges, you can form a weighted ranking of prompts, as well as measure agreement between participants.
With enough judgements from enough judges, you can form a weighted ranking of prompts, as well as measure agreement between participants.
@impractknow.bsky.social seems to think this is where to philosophy is now, so here I am. To get started, a silly joke. Behold, the Platonic heaven:
September 7, 2023 at 11:25 AM
@impractknow.bsky.social seems to think this is where to philosophy is now, so here I am. To get started, a silly joke. Behold, the Platonic heaven: