Michael Barany
@mbarany.com
Historical and cultural theories about maths and science theories. Fields Medal killjoy. Scotland enjoyer. formerly @mbarany on birdsite and intermittently @mjb@mathstodon.xyz on fediverse
Pinned
Michael Barany
@mbarany.com
· Apr 17
Reading Between the Lines in the Barany Lab: Lessons on Written and Unwritten Science and Mathematics - International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics
Purpose I reflect on my childhood experiences in the Barany Lab and connect them to several findings and themes from my subsequent career researching the history and culture of science and mathematics...
doi.org
I wrote a little essay in honor of my dad's retirement, "Reading Between the Lines in the Barany Lab" (open access) doi.org/10.1007/s109...
Reposted by Michael Barany
It's the caring labour of coding that is constantly rendered invisible. Real Men move fast and heroically break things, ripping the future into the present whether we like it or not.
Caring whether it's fit for purpose and methodically examining what's being proposed to assess it is for pussies.
Caring whether it's fit for purpose and methodically examining what's being proposed to assess it is for pussies.
February 14, 2026 at 10:34 AM
It's the caring labour of coding that is constantly rendered invisible. Real Men move fast and heroically break things, ripping the future into the present whether we like it or not.
Caring whether it's fit for purpose and methodically examining what's being proposed to assess it is for pussies.
Caring whether it's fit for purpose and methodically examining what's being proposed to assess it is for pussies.
Reposted by Michael Barany
Time for our weekly reminder that there is only one ed tech investment that is proven to work, and it's hiring more teachers and paying them better.
This decision was made without consulting a single CU Boulder professor with AI expertise. And AFAIK there was one professor *total* involved.
More info, such as it is, here: https://www.cu.edu/gen-ai
Check the "Guiding Principles" section for entertainment.
More info, such as it is, here: https://www.cu.edu/gen-ai
Check the "Guiding Principles" section for entertainment.
February 11, 2026 at 9:01 PM
Time for our weekly reminder that there is only one ed tech investment that is proven to work, and it's hiring more teachers and paying them better.
hate when reverse centaur keeps happening
Okay, then check that it doesn't do that. But checking code is hard. Oh no, you're a reverse centaur again. Better keep vigilant for a typo that messes up hundreds of lines of code!
February 10, 2026 at 10:17 AM
hate when reverse centaur keeps happening
Reposted by Michael Barany
The next answer would be: then formalise the proof and check it with a computer. Our paper discusses autoformalisation a bit, and how the dangers are still present. For example, an LLM might formalise a proof to something true but trivial, rather than the intended theorem.
February 10, 2026 at 10:00 AM
The next answer would be: then formalise the proof and check it with a computer. Our paper discusses autoformalisation a bit, and how the dangers are still present. For example, an LLM might formalise a proof to something true but trivial, rather than the intended theorem.
Reposted by Michael Barany
The situation of mathematicians checking the work of mathematicians isn't always great and many mistakes are not spotted.
But LLMs are worse: they are software designed to sound right and authoritative, but can make mistakes in all kinds of ways, including mistakes that no human would make.
But LLMs are worse: they are software designed to sound right and authoritative, but can make mistakes in all kinds of ways, including mistakes that no human would make.
February 10, 2026 at 10:00 AM
The situation of mathematicians checking the work of mathematicians isn't always great and many mistakes are not spotted.
But LLMs are worse: they are software designed to sound right and authoritative, but can make mistakes in all kinds of ways, including mistakes that no human would make.
But LLMs are worse: they are software designed to sound right and authoritative, but can make mistakes in all kinds of ways, including mistakes that no human would make.
Reposted by Michael Barany
In that case, the mathematician becomes the reverse centaur i.e. a horse head making decisions and held aloft
by puny human legs (worst of both a human and horse!). Humans are supposed to be keeping vigilant for mistakes and errors, but they are not particularly good at this.
by puny human legs (worst of both a human and horse!). Humans are supposed to be keeping vigilant for mistakes and errors, but they are not particularly good at this.
February 10, 2026 at 10:00 AM
In that case, the mathematician becomes the reverse centaur i.e. a horse head making decisions and held aloft
by puny human legs (worst of both a human and horse!). Humans are supposed to be keeping vigilant for mistakes and errors, but they are not particularly good at this.
by puny human legs (worst of both a human and horse!). Humans are supposed to be keeping vigilant for mistakes and errors, but they are not particularly good at this.
Reposted by Michael Barany
New paper! Joint work with @asgeirberg.bsky.social
"The Philosophical Prospects of Large Language
Models in the Future of Mathematics"
Online now in the Annals of Mathematics and Philosophy: mxphi.com/wp-content/u...
Please share it with anyone interested in LLMs and Mathematics!
🧵
"The Philosophical Prospects of Large Language
Models in the Future of Mathematics"
Online now in the Annals of Mathematics and Philosophy: mxphi.com/wp-content/u...
Please share it with anyone interested in LLMs and Mathematics!
🧵
mxphi.com
February 10, 2026 at 10:00 AM
New paper! Joint work with @asgeirberg.bsky.social
"The Philosophical Prospects of Large Language
Models in the Future of Mathematics"
Online now in the Annals of Mathematics and Philosophy: mxphi.com/wp-content/u...
Please share it with anyone interested in LLMs and Mathematics!
🧵
"The Philosophical Prospects of Large Language
Models in the Future of Mathematics"
Online now in the Annals of Mathematics and Philosophy: mxphi.com/wp-content/u...
Please share it with anyone interested in LLMs and Mathematics!
🧵
always here for a good Terry Tao Takedown
@fennert.bsky.social and I wrote a paper on the philosophical implications of using LLMs in mathematical practice. It is finally out in the Annals of Mathematics and Philosophy: mxphi.com/wp-content/u...
mxphi.com
February 10, 2026 at 10:11 AM
always here for a good Terry Tao Takedown
Reposted by Michael Barany
The Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex appear to be spamming researchers demanding unpaid labour which they claim is "crucial" for their research project on "Metascience Novelty Indicators".
I have a novelty indicator for them. It is digital, and highly expressive.
I have a novelty indicator for them. It is digital, and highly expressive.
February 6, 2026 at 2:12 PM
The Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex appear to be spamming researchers demanding unpaid labour which they claim is "crucial" for their research project on "Metascience Novelty Indicators".
I have a novelty indicator for them. It is digital, and highly expressive.
I have a novelty indicator for them. It is digital, and highly expressive.
Reposted by Michael Barany
Got mine this morning. Told them I didn’t consent to being part of their study, to remove my personal data, and never contact me again.
Don’t work for free, and especially don’t work for free for anything that seems to be scraping your free work for slopAI metric nonsense
Don’t work for free, and especially don’t work for free for anything that seems to be scraping your free work for slopAI metric nonsense
The Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex appear to be spamming researchers demanding unpaid labour which they claim is "crucial" for their research project on "Metascience Novelty Indicators".
I have a novelty indicator for them. It is digital, and highly expressive.
I have a novelty indicator for them. It is digital, and highly expressive.
February 9, 2026 at 9:33 AM
Got mine this morning. Told them I didn’t consent to being part of their study, to remove my personal data, and never contact me again.
Don’t work for free, and especially don’t work for free for anything that seems to be scraping your free work for slopAI metric nonsense
Don’t work for free, and especially don’t work for free for anything that seems to be scraping your free work for slopAI metric nonsense
Reposted by Michael Barany
From digital sovereignty to age verification and Online Safety, UK policy is facing serious problems. Policymakers are demanding irreconcilable technical features, leaving much of the implementation in the hands of big tech, and risking handing further power to big US firms
February 6, 2026 at 8:57 AM
From digital sovereignty to age verification and Online Safety, UK policy is facing serious problems. Policymakers are demanding irreconcilable technical features, leaving much of the implementation in the hands of big tech, and risking handing further power to big US firms
Reposted by Michael Barany
people are underselling the role of Misha Gromov as a fixer for Epstein, someone who helps him extend his network of influence by softening his reputation and making high profile introductions. Perhaps non-mathematicians won't know these names but this is not a small thing
February 4, 2026 at 11:09 AM
people are underselling the role of Misha Gromov as a fixer for Epstein, someone who helps him extend his network of influence by softening his reputation and making high profile introductions. Perhaps non-mathematicians won't know these names but this is not a small thing
Reposted by Michael Barany
⬇️ exactly this & where much of the investment is increasingly coming from, not public markets but private credit, pension and 🥁 insurance funds…
This is a must-read, but I can't help thinking that more emphasis needs to be placed on the resonance between the pursuit of scientific scale for AI and the underlying and explicit pursuit of business scale at all costs for platforms and investors
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Donald MacKenzie · AI’s Scale
AI’s scale doesn’t matter just to specialists. The rest of us are being taken on a ride along the logarithmic curve...
www.lrb.co.uk
February 4, 2026 at 9:27 AM
⬇️ exactly this & where much of the investment is increasingly coming from, not public markets but private credit, pension and 🥁 insurance funds…
Reposted by Michael Barany
"A budget is a statement of our values..."
Would be nice to hear this reflected in how we discuss financial modelling in UK HE. Currently, we seems to stuck at "number go up, number go down" rather than what kind of institution are we and why?
Would be nice to hear this reflected in how we discuss financial modelling in UK HE. Currently, we seems to stuck at "number go up, number go down" rather than what kind of institution are we and why?
The City’s Budget is our future. And you deserve to know how it works.
February 3, 2026 at 11:19 AM
"A budget is a statement of our values..."
Would be nice to hear this reflected in how we discuss financial modelling in UK HE. Currently, we seems to stuck at "number go up, number go down" rather than what kind of institution are we and why?
Would be nice to hear this reflected in how we discuss financial modelling in UK HE. Currently, we seems to stuck at "number go up, number go down" rather than what kind of institution are we and why?
honestly one of my favourite features of living in the UK is how many strong bottom line political arguments here boil down to "NHS is Good"
Doctors are the extreme example, but we all benefit from having a higher educational standard among the population. It's not just a personal benefit in any case. Student fees and loans are just a horrible way to fund HE. I thought it when they came in and I think it now.
February 3, 2026 at 9:34 AM
honestly one of my favourite features of living in the UK is how many strong bottom line political arguments here boil down to "NHS is Good"
Reposted by Michael Barany
So this is a very early (1954) attempt to illustrate what the fallout implications of high-yield nuclear weapons are for war — basically just putting the Castle BRAVO fallout pattern over possible US targets...
...and I can't stop thinking about how ridiculously, hilariously phallic they all look.
...and I can't stop thinking about how ridiculously, hilariously phallic they all look.
February 2, 2026 at 9:31 PM
So this is a very early (1954) attempt to illustrate what the fallout implications of high-yield nuclear weapons are for war — basically just putting the Castle BRAVO fallout pattern over possible US targets...
...and I can't stop thinking about how ridiculously, hilariously phallic they all look.
...and I can't stop thinking about how ridiculously, hilariously phallic they all look.
working at a wealthy uni that continues to rank highly and report a surplus and yet somehow is well into the items on tweet 3/4, thanks consultants
In the UK academic recession, you will be at one of these stages since many unis buy the same cuts model from the same consultancies. It is always the same process:
*Talk of belt-tightening
*Incidental savings (e.g. printing, refreshments)
*Travel budgets cut
*Promotion freeze (1/4)
*Talk of belt-tightening
*Incidental savings (e.g. printing, refreshments)
*Travel budgets cut
*Promotion freeze (1/4)
February 2, 2026 at 9:21 PM
working at a wealthy uni that continues to rank highly and report a surplus and yet somehow is well into the items on tweet 3/4, thanks consultants
Reposted by Michael Barany
Nepworking, pass it on.
"Networking" is just fancy speak for "get hired because you're buddies with the CEO/middle manager" just like "lobbying" is fancy speak for "corruption".
For the record, henceforth if you describe “networking” to me as a necessary professional skill, just know, in my head, I’m thinking of Jeffrey Epstein tremendous “networking” acumen. Fair warning.
January 31, 2026 at 6:16 PM
Nepworking, pass it on.
Reposted by Michael Barany
This came out two weeks ago ago but I missed it: The French Mathematical Society has announced that they will not attend the ICM in Philadelphia. Other national societies should follow suit until the ICM is relocated. (Translation in alt text.) 🧮 smf.emath.fr/actualites-s...
January 31, 2026 at 5:57 PM
This came out two weeks ago ago but I missed it: The French Mathematical Society has announced that they will not attend the ICM in Philadelphia. Other national societies should follow suit until the ICM is relocated. (Translation in alt text.) 🧮 smf.emath.fr/actualites-s...
Reposted by Michael Barany
Academic publishing is currently experiencing a viral spread of “zombie citations.” I tried following one to see how these references are infecting academic knowledge systems codeactsineducation.wordpress.com/2026/01/30/t...
Tracing the social half-life of a zombie citation
Photo by Henrik L. on Unsplash Academic publishing is currently experiencing a viral spread of “zombie citations.” This term refers to references of academic publications that do not ex…
codeactsineducation.wordpress.com
January 30, 2026 at 7:12 PM
Academic publishing is currently experiencing a viral spread of “zombie citations.” I tried following one to see how these references are infecting academic knowledge systems codeactsineducation.wordpress.com/2026/01/30/t...
Reposted by Michael Barany
yet still further pondering
January 30, 2026 at 1:47 PM
yet still further pondering
Reposted by Michael Barany
my dad didn’t go to university and he was extremely happy to pay taxes for his four children to do so; and, indeed, for the doctors who treated him at Addenbrookes to have gone to university as well.
Rachel Reeves: "It is not right that people who don't go to university bear the cost for others to." I don't use local leisure centres and I don't drive, so will I be made exempt for taxation that pays for all that stuff? Or is it only education we'll be going after
January 29, 2026 at 10:22 PM
my dad didn’t go to university and he was extremely happy to pay taxes for his four children to do so; and, indeed, for the doctors who treated him at Addenbrookes to have gone to university as well.
Reposted by Michael Barany
Great work by @ucuedinburgh.bsky.social on UoE's latest financial report. Depressing that a university doing pretty damn well financially (no deficit) compared to most of the sector choosing to destroy itself, and staff are all just sitting helplessly in the backseat of a slow motion car crash.
Depreciating the University of Edinburgh into the Ground — UCU Edinburgh
There are four key takeaways from the University of Edinburgh’s 2024-25 annual report, which this post explores: The University continues to make a sizeable surplus. What financial pressures exi...
www.ucuedinburgh.org.uk
January 27, 2026 at 7:26 PM
Great work by @ucuedinburgh.bsky.social on UoE's latest financial report. Depressing that a university doing pretty damn well financially (no deficit) compared to most of the sector choosing to destroy itself, and staff are all just sitting helplessly in the backseat of a slow motion car crash.
Reposted by Michael Barany
New analysis from @ucuedinburgh.bsky.social & fellow Unions.
Sizeable surplus @ Edinburgh Uni
Financial pressure is from irresponsible capital spending & depreciation
Management metrics mislead
Redundancies hit financial strength & Uni’s academic mission
www.ucuedinburgh.org.uk/blog/depreci...
Sizeable surplus @ Edinburgh Uni
Financial pressure is from irresponsible capital spending & depreciation
Management metrics mislead
Redundancies hit financial strength & Uni’s academic mission
www.ucuedinburgh.org.uk/blog/depreci...
Depreciating the University of Edinburgh into the Ground — UCU Edinburgh
There are four key takeaways from the University of Edinburgh’s 2024-25 annual report, which this post explores: The University continues to make a sizeable surplus. What financial pressures exi...
www.ucuedinburgh.org.uk
January 28, 2026 at 7:52 AM
New analysis from @ucuedinburgh.bsky.social & fellow Unions.
Sizeable surplus @ Edinburgh Uni
Financial pressure is from irresponsible capital spending & depreciation
Management metrics mislead
Redundancies hit financial strength & Uni’s academic mission
www.ucuedinburgh.org.uk/blog/depreci...
Sizeable surplus @ Edinburgh Uni
Financial pressure is from irresponsible capital spending & depreciation
Management metrics mislead
Redundancies hit financial strength & Uni’s academic mission
www.ucuedinburgh.org.uk/blog/depreci...
Reposted by Michael Barany
The UK government is proposing radical and punitive changes to settlement rules. This is settlement, not citizenship. The consultation is open until 12 February; please respond to it and oppose these evil proposals. Amnesty have a good guide: www.amnesty.org.uk/resources/gu...
Guidance for responding to 'A Fairer Pathway to Settlement' consultation
We are Amnesty International UK. We are ordinary people from across the world standing up for humanity and human rights.
www.amnesty.org.uk
January 22, 2026 at 10:22 AM
The UK government is proposing radical and punitive changes to settlement rules. This is settlement, not citizenship. The consultation is open until 12 February; please respond to it and oppose these evil proposals. Amnesty have a good guide: www.amnesty.org.uk/resources/gu...