Vince Vatter
@vatter.bsky.social
Mathematician at the University of Florida. Here for the hot takes. Also @VinceVatter@mathstodon.xyz
Reposted by Vince Vatter
Everyone hates springing forward but loves falling back. Proposal: Abolish leap days, and redistribute those hours in the form of 6 annual "fall back" holidays. More sleep, less leap. A clear pareto improvement to our calendar.
March 9, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Everyone hates springing forward but loves falling back. Proposal: Abolish leap days, and redistribute those hours in the form of 6 annual "fall back" holidays. More sleep, less leap. A clear pareto improvement to our calendar.
I'm excited to share: we built a free AI coach for intro-level proof writing. It critiques drafts, points out gaps, and helps you or your students iterate without giving away the answer. Also for lapsed mathematicians to see if they've still got it. Demo below, link in reply.
August 14, 2025 at 9:07 PM
I'm excited to share: we built a free AI coach for intro-level proof writing. It critiques drafts, points out gaps, and helps you or your students iterate without giving away the answer. Also for lapsed mathematicians to see if they've still got it. Demo below, link in reply.
Published today in the Notices of the AMS. Lol.
June 16, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Published today in the Notices of the AMS. Lol.
meanwhile, wikipedia is in existential crisis over whether √4 deserves its own page
May 30, 2025 at 3:34 PM
meanwhile, wikipedia is in existential crisis over whether √4 deserves its own page
interest in the natural numbers is at an all-time low
May 29, 2025 at 7:09 PM
interest in the natural numbers is at an all-time low
Reposted by Vince Vatter
Just to say how much I like the digit party game digit.party created by Robert Brignall and @vatter.bsky.social.
digit.party
match numbers, score points. daily challenge + random boards
digit.party
May 28, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Just to say how much I like the digit party game digit.party created by Robert Brignall and @vatter.bsky.social.
Of course they would choose a math major
May 8, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Of course they would choose a math major
It’s final exam season again, and I like to display a clock while proctoring.
But all the web clocks google suggests suck.
So I made one (okay, tbh, chatgpt made it under my supervision):
digit.party/clock
But all the web clocks google suggests suck.
So I made one (okay, tbh, chatgpt made it under my supervision):
digit.party/clock
Digit Party Clock
A minimalist analog and digital clock. Perfect for proctoring exams, or just keeping time beautifully.
digit.party
April 28, 2025 at 2:40 PM
It’s final exam season again, and I like to display a clock while proctoring.
But all the web clocks google suggests suck.
So I made one (okay, tbh, chatgpt made it under my supervision):
digit.party/clock
But all the web clocks google suggests suck.
So I made one (okay, tbh, chatgpt made it under my supervision):
digit.party/clock
AI debt collector exhibiting speciesism
April 14, 2025 at 11:48 AM
AI debt collector exhibiting speciesism
Reposted by Vince Vatter
'bc I'm tired'
Excellent example of how LLMs just reproduce what they've seen in their training data.
Excellent example of how LLMs just reproduce what they've seen in their training data.
April 13, 2025 at 2:23 PM
'bc I'm tired'
Excellent example of how LLMs just reproduce what they've seen in their training data.
Excellent example of how LLMs just reproduce what they've seen in their training data.
you're what now chatgpt?
![ChatGPT-4o:
"go to OEIS bc i’m tired: [1, 1, 1, 2, 5, 17, 73, …] → OEIS A001339"](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4wrxafbsjycxbpjo4e42ht6q/bafkreiabbattgt5qjv7mlj5fl4cfg5r4yziyesed5alqery53gzanugcry@jpeg)
April 12, 2025 at 7:30 PM
you're what now chatgpt?
I mean, it’s still better to have money than not have money right?
April 4, 2025 at 5:08 PM
I mean, it’s still better to have money than not have money right?
you'll never guess what color my daughter's squares ended up
April 3, 2025 at 11:31 PM
you'll never guess what color my daughter's squares ended up
Everyone hates springing forward but loves falling back. Proposal: Abolish leap days, and redistribute those hours in the form of 6 annual "fall back" holidays. More sleep, less leap. A clear pareto improvement to our calendar.
March 9, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Everyone hates springing forward but loves falling back. Proposal: Abolish leap days, and redistribute those hours in the form of 6 annual "fall back" holidays. More sleep, less leap. A clear pareto improvement to our calendar.
Logical proof that "months" are fake.
Most people born in April are Aries.
All Aries are born in March or April.
Most people born in March or April were born in March.
Therefore, most people born in April were born in March.
Most people born in April are Aries.
All Aries are born in March or April.
Most people born in March or April were born in March.
Therefore, most people born in April were born in March.
March 7, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Logical proof that "months" are fake.
Most people born in April are Aries.
All Aries are born in March or April.
Most people born in March or April were born in March.
Therefore, most people born in April were born in March.
Most people born in April are Aries.
All Aries are born in March or April.
Most people born in March or April were born in March.
Therefore, most people born in April were born in March.
I asked GPT-4o to flip a coin 10,000 times. Same prompt, same parameters, but the *odds of getting Heads* took on 42 different probabilities (none below 85% btw). Obv don't use gpt-4o to flip your coins, but what the hell is going on? Here are some thoughts.
towardsdatascience.com/avoidable-an...
towardsdatascience.com/avoidable-an...
Avoidable and Unavoidable Randomness in GPT-4o | Towards Data Science
Exploring the sources of randomness in GPT-4o from the known and controllable to the opaque and uncontrollable.
towardsdatascience.com
March 4, 2025 at 3:05 PM
I asked GPT-4o to flip a coin 10,000 times. Same prompt, same parameters, but the *odds of getting Heads* took on 42 different probabilities (none below 85% btw). Obv don't use gpt-4o to flip your coins, but what the hell is going on? Here are some thoughts.
towardsdatascience.com/avoidable-an...
towardsdatascience.com/avoidable-an...
Reposted by Vince Vatter
Actually it's ok to divide by zero as long as you use the proper facilities. 🧮
March 4, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Actually it's ok to divide by zero as long as you use the proper facilities. 🧮
There's an article in Scientific American today about superpermutations mentioning @robin.boskerenterprises.com, @gregegansf.bsky.social, @njohnston.ca, @jaypantone.com, me, and of course, “Anonymous 4chan Poster.”
www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...
www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...
How Anime Fans Stumbled upon a Mathematical Proof
When a fan of a cult anime series wanted to watch its episodes in every possible order, they asked a question that had perplexed combinatorial mathematicians for years
www.scientificamerican.com
March 3, 2025 at 11:50 PM
There's an article in Scientific American today about superpermutations mentioning @robin.boskerenterprises.com, @gregegansf.bsky.social, @njohnston.ca, @jaypantone.com, me, and of course, “Anonymous 4chan Poster.”
www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...
www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...
the first step is admitting you have a problem. the second step is asking random users to fix it for free.
February 25, 2025 at 3:22 PM
the first step is admitting you have a problem. the second step is asking random users to fix it for free.
Fermat thought 2^(2^n))+1 was prime after checking n=0,1,2,3,4. Euler factored the n=5 case, oops. Worse still, the odds are we'll never see another Fermat prime.
![$2^{2^n}+1$ isn't prime for $5\le n\le 32$. By the prime number theorem, $m$ is prime with probability ${\approx\nicefrac{1}{\ln m}}$. The probability that another number of this form is prime is about
\[
\sum_{n=33}^\infty \frac{1}{\ln (2^{2^n}+1)}
< \sum_{n=33}^\infty \frac{1}{2^n\ln 2}
= \frac{1}{2^{32}\ln 2}
\approx 0.000000000359.
\]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4wrxafbsjycxbpjo4e42ht6q/bafkreiaxritc4v2f2eo74jt6ox2ylnzfqqxfaioaq7ja3vhkyiwikej3ny@jpeg)
February 20, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Fermat thought 2^(2^n))+1 was prime after checking n=0,1,2,3,4. Euler factored the n=5 case, oops. Worse still, the odds are we'll never see another Fermat prime.