Matt Farr
@mattfarr.bsky.social
Philosopher of science @ Cambridge • mattfarr.co.uk
Pinned
Matt Farr
@mattfarr.bsky.social
· Sep 30
Matt Farr, Time in Classical Physics - PhilPapers
Time plays an ambiguous role in classical physics. On the one hand, classical physics allows for a picture of time largely fitting with common-sense views about time, as one-dimensional, and flowing ....
philpapers.org
I wrote a little thing about time in classical physics, thoughtfully titled 'Time in Classical Physics'. Forthcoming in Nina Emery's 'Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Time'.
Another not-at-all dated reference from today's lecture.
November 6, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Another not-at-all dated reference from today's lecture.
Reposted by Matt Farr
The BSPS is coming to Leeds!
Get your symposia proposals in by Jan 14th
www.thebsps.org/news/bsps-an...
Get your symposia proposals in by Jan 14th
www.thebsps.org/news/bsps-an...
November 6, 2025 at 2:05 PM
The BSPS is coming to Leeds!
Get your symposia proposals in by Jan 14th
www.thebsps.org/news/bsps-an...
Get your symposia proposals in by Jan 14th
www.thebsps.org/news/bsps-an...
Reposted by Matt Farr
Some background – my little piece on Hawking on this issue, from Nature in 1989.
prce.hu/w/preprints/...
prce.hu/w/preprints/...
November 6, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Some background – my little piece on Hawking on this issue, from Nature in 1989.
prce.hu/w/preprints/...
prce.hu/w/preprints/...
Some Simpsons references within lectures are easier to justify than others.
November 6, 2025 at 9:29 AM
Some Simpsons references within lectures are easier to justify than others.
Scenic walk to the office, courtesy of a puncture. 🍁🍂
November 6, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Scenic walk to the office, courtesy of a puncture. 🍁🍂
3 years ago I tweeted that, and it went on to be, by orders of magnitude, the most-read bit of writing I've produced about the philosophy of time. 20 million views, 400k 'likes', newspaper articles, end-of-year Buzzfeed lists, some genuinely bizarre emails, and even being recognised while abroad.
Overheard a university student say “Arctic Monkeys were my dad’s favourite band when I was little.” The passage of time is relentless, unfathomable, cruel, and unforgiving.
November 3, 2025 at 12:12 PM
3 years ago I tweeted that, and it went on to be, by orders of magnitude, the most-read bit of writing I've produced about the philosophy of time. 20 million views, 400k 'likes', newspaper articles, end-of-year Buzzfeed lists, some genuinely bizarre emails, and even being recognised while abroad.
Overheard a university student say “Arctic Monkeys were my dad’s favourite band when I was little.” The passage of time is relentless, unfathomable, cruel, and unforgiving.
November 3, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Overheard a university student say “Arctic Monkeys were my dad’s favourite band when I was little.” The passage of time is relentless, unfathomable, cruel, and unforgiving.
The probability of performing well in a marathon is determined by your long-run frequency.
October 29, 2025 at 11:11 AM
The probability of performing well in a marathon is determined by your long-run frequency.
Reposted by Matt Farr
Huzzah! The PhilSci preprint archive for #philsci papers is finally on Bsky! Give them a follow to keep up with latest work in field ⬇️
@philsci-archive.bsky.social
@philsci-archive.bsky.social
October 25, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Huzzah! The PhilSci preprint archive for #philsci papers is finally on Bsky! Give them a follow to keep up with latest work in field ⬇️
@philsci-archive.bsky.social
@philsci-archive.bsky.social
😬
October 25, 2025 at 12:08 PM
😬
Reposted by Matt Farr
No they do not. I'll try to write something up in the next few days....
October 23, 2025 at 4:36 PM
No they do not. I'll try to write something up in the next few days....
Reposted by Matt Farr
Query for causation folk: correlations due to a common cause C are screened off by conditioning on C. So there’s a selection artefact due to doing this inadvertently – i.e., missing the correlation, by selecting subjects who share a value of C. Does this have a name? Are there good real examples?
October 23, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Reposted by Matt Farr
Don’t miss our Lunch Time Talk with Melinda Fagan!
📅 Tomorrow, October 24th
⏰ 12pm EDT
📍 CL-1117
Title: "Explanatory particularism in scientific practice"
More here: https://ow.ly/tIgM50XaFt3
Can't make the talk? Join on Zoom: https://ow.ly/JetZ50XaFt2
See you there!
#LTT #CenterPhilSci
📅 Tomorrow, October 24th
⏰ 12pm EDT
📍 CL-1117
Title: "Explanatory particularism in scientific practice"
More here: https://ow.ly/tIgM50XaFt3
Can't make the talk? Join on Zoom: https://ow.ly/JetZ50XaFt2
See you there!
#LTT #CenterPhilSci
October 23, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Don’t miss our Lunch Time Talk with Melinda Fagan!
📅 Tomorrow, October 24th
⏰ 12pm EDT
📍 CL-1117
Title: "Explanatory particularism in scientific practice"
More here: https://ow.ly/tIgM50XaFt3
Can't make the talk? Join on Zoom: https://ow.ly/JetZ50XaFt2
See you there!
#LTT #CenterPhilSci
📅 Tomorrow, October 24th
⏰ 12pm EDT
📍 CL-1117
Title: "Explanatory particularism in scientific practice"
More here: https://ow.ly/tIgM50XaFt3
Can't make the talk? Join on Zoom: https://ow.ly/JetZ50XaFt2
See you there!
#LTT #CenterPhilSci
Reposted by Matt Farr
Louvre Thieves Given Immunity After Confirming Jewels Stolen For Purpose Of Training AI Software https://waterfordwhispersnews.com/2025/10/20/louvre-thieves-given-immunity-after-confirming-jewels-stolen-for-purpose-of-training-ai-software/
Louvre Thieves Given Immunity After Confirming Jewels Stolen For Purpose Of Training AI Software
FRENCH POLICE have immediately ended all efforts to recover priceless Napoleon-era jewellery from the Louvre taken in a daring heist after it emerged the jewels were merely stolen for the purposes of training AI software.
When …
waterfordwhispersnews.com
October 20, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Louvre Thieves Given Immunity After Confirming Jewels Stolen For Purpose Of Training AI Software https://waterfordwhispersnews.com/2025/10/20/louvre-thieves-given-immunity-after-confirming-jewels-stolen-for-purpose-of-training-ai-software/
Nailing the lecture slides this year.
October 20, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Nailing the lecture slides this year.
Konstanz, January 2016.
October 18, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Konstanz, January 2016.
Not a PB, but the fastest ParkRun palindrome I can currently muster
October 11, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Not a PB, but the fastest ParkRun palindrome I can currently muster
Reposted by Matt Farr
CamPoS (Cambridge Philosophy of Science seminar series) is now on Bluesky! Please see our upcoming talks here: www.hps.cam.ac.uk/news-events/...
CamPoS | Department of History and Philosophy of Science
CamPoS (Cambridge Philosophy of Science) is a network of academics and students working in the philosophy of science in various parts of the University of Cambridge, including the Department of Histor...
www.hps.cam.ac.uk
October 2, 2025 at 3:31 PM
CamPoS (Cambridge Philosophy of Science seminar series) is now on Bluesky! Please see our upcoming talks here: www.hps.cam.ac.uk/news-events/...
People write their horror stories about accidentally clicking “reply all.” But I once set up an ‘out of office’ message that somehow went out in response *to every email I’d ever received*.
October 8, 2025 at 2:07 PM
People write their horror stories about accidentally clicking “reply all.” But I once set up an ‘out of office’ message that somehow went out in response *to every email I’d ever received*.
Reposted by Matt Farr
Sunday night reading: why the Second Law of Thermodynamics is not quite what you probably learned. With quantum systems there's an extra bit that can mess with and even reverse heat flow. And we can use that to detect "quantumness".
www.quantamagazine.org/a-thermomete...
www.quantamagazine.org/a-thermomete...
A Thermometer for Measuring Quantumness | Quanta Magazine
“Anomalous” heat flow, which at first appears to violate the second law of thermodynamics, gives physicists a way to detect quantum entanglement without destroying it.
www.quantamagazine.org
October 5, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Sunday night reading: why the Second Law of Thermodynamics is not quite what you probably learned. With quantum systems there's an extra bit that can mess with and even reverse heat flow. And we can use that to detect "quantumness".
www.quantamagazine.org/a-thermomete...
www.quantamagazine.org/a-thermomete...
Reposted by Matt Farr
What does beauty have to do with science? | https://bit.ly/4gm1LDm
Professor Milena Ivanova argues that science does in fact use beauty to trigger feelings of awe and wonder, but beauty can also be a guide to scientific discovery.
#philsci 🧪
Professor Milena Ivanova argues that science does in fact use beauty to trigger feelings of awe and wonder, but beauty can also be a guide to scientific discovery.
#philsci 🧪
James Webb images were made to look beautiful | Milena Ivanova
The recent images from the James Webb Telescope were deliberately made to look beautiful by NASA. The telescope itself can’t even detect visible light – the colours of the images were chosen by the as...
iai.tv
October 3, 2025 at 5:30 PM
What does beauty have to do with science? | https://bit.ly/4gm1LDm
Professor Milena Ivanova argues that science does in fact use beauty to trigger feelings of awe and wonder, but beauty can also be a guide to scientific discovery.
#philsci 🧪
Professor Milena Ivanova argues that science does in fact use beauty to trigger feelings of awe and wonder, but beauty can also be a guide to scientific discovery.
#philsci 🧪