Simon Blackburn
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simonrblackburn.bsky.social
Simon Blackburn
@simonrblackburn.bsky.social
400 followers 440 following 110 posts
Combinatorics, Algebra, Cryptography. Professor of Pure Mathematics at Royal Holloway University of London. Maths enthusiast. Cat enthusiast. Woking Rail Enthusiast.
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Reposted by Simon Blackburn
mooseallain.bsky.social
A man has been found guilty of writing a stream of consciousness novel. He is about to start a 4 year sentence.
November 12, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Reposted by Simon Blackburn
hermathsstory.bsky.social
“I hope that we will get to a point in the future where a woman can be an excellent mathematician without it being remarked upon as something out of the ordinary.” - Ilse Fischer @randomstructures.bsky.social

➡️ hermathsstory.eu/ilse-fischer/

#Combinatorics #Europe #Math #Academia
The picture shows the Her Maths Story logo on top, below is a portrait photo of IIse Fischer. She’s wearing a lavender sweater. The background is shaded off-white.
November 12, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Reposted by Simon Blackburn
chrislintott.bsky.social
Sky at Night always used to have an early repeat - and we're back, with our collaboration with the Curious Cases team on at 7pm tomorrow on BBC4. Please watch if you possibly can - support your local science program! www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Four - The Sky at Night, Space Mysteries: The Sky at Night Meets Curious Cases
Hannah Fry and Dara Ó Briain join the team to answer viewers' burning queries about space.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 12, 2025 at 10:44 AM
simonrblackburn.bsky.social
Exciting train spot this afternoon: two class 37s, the best class all would agree, passing through Egham. 37508 on the back was a particular surprise.
Two class 37s travelling left to right in front of autumn trees. 37800 in Rail Ops Group blue with star field. Behind is 37308 in classic engineers grey. Both with traditional yellow ends. What a sound!
November 11, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Reposted by Simon Blackburn
lewisgoodall.com
The reaction to the Panorama edit has been nothing short of hysterical. Yes the BBC has some impartiality problems. But its biggest isn't the one you think.

New piece from me.

open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...
The truth about impartiality at the BBC
And the hysteria of the current "crisis"
open.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Reposted by Simon Blackburn
ianvisits.co.uk
Conservation work has started on one of the most unusual mausoleums in the Roman Catholic world -- the Bedouin tent shaped tomb of Sir Richard Burton and his wife, Lady Isabel.

www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/res...
Restoration of Burton’s Mausoleum starts with aim to reopen the tomb for visits
Conservation work has started on one of the most unusual mausoleums in the Roman Catholic world -- the Bedouin tent shaped tomb of Sir Richard Burton and his wife, Lady Isabel.
www.ianvisits.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 6:54 AM
Reposted by Simon Blackburn
londmathsoc.bsky.social
Just 1️⃣ month to go until the LMS Computer Science Colloquium, which takes place on 9 Dec at De Morgan House and online.

This year's theme is 'Combinatorics and Computing' and features speakers on the cutting edge of mathematics and computer science.

➡️ www.lms.ac.uk/events/lms-c...
November 9, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Reposted by Simon Blackburn
drannaclark.bsky.social
Laws of thought: George Boole, influential mathematician, born #OTD 1815; Boolean logic laid foundation for computers & Information Age.
University College Cork
November 2, 2025 at 6:00 AM
Reposted by Simon Blackburn
mooseallain.bsky.social
www.worldofmoose.com/collections/...
Cartoon of a train passing through a city. In the windows of the train can be seen the little heads of ducks. Caption: "Ducklands Light Railway"
October 31, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Reposted by Simon Blackburn
womensartbluesky.bsky.social
Fall of the Leaf, 1934
By printmaker Sybil Andrews (Canadian (born England)
Color linocut on Japanese paper #ReframingWomenPrintmakers
Print featuring a stylised image of a farmer ploughing a curving field with horses beside large trees
October 26, 2025 at 6:48 AM
Reposted by Simon Blackburn
poorlycatdraw.bsky.social
October 24, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Reposted by Simon Blackburn
poorlycatdraw.bsky.social
a purrfect circle
a sleepy tuxedo cat a circle
October 24, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Reposted by Simon Blackburn
ianvisits.co.uk
You’ve probably heard of the phrase “time immemorial” as a general term for events that happened a very long time ago, but in fact, it has a specific meaning, and this year is its 750th anniversary.

www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/tim...
Time Immemorial turns 750: The Medieval law that froze history at 1189
You’ve probably heard of the phrase “time immemorial” as a general term for events that happened a very long time ago, but in fact, it has a specific meaning, and this year is its 750th anniversary.
www.ianvisits.co.uk
October 23, 2025 at 6:43 AM
Reposted by Simon Blackburn
jameschalmers.bsky.social
This remains the funniest way to hear about an internet outage, though.
Denise C. @SpudBenBean · Follow A woman who rang ABC Sydney radio said she found out about the Optus outage from her cat. The cat has an automatic wi-fi feeder (connected to Optus) & when breakfast wasn't delivered at 6:10 am, the cat went to the bedroom to lodge a complaint with management.
October 20, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Reposted by Simon Blackburn
poorlycatdraw.bsky.social
a very spooky tutorial
October 18, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Reposted by Simon Blackburn
carlbergstrom.com
This morning my ChatGPT quota was inexplicably exhausted.

It took a while but I pieced it together. Voice mode somehow got activated when I went to bed.

The bot then engaged in a 10 hour conversation with my snoring dog, answering questions the pup wasn’t asking and praising him for his insight.
October 18, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Reposted by Simon Blackburn
paulbernal.bsky.social
Professors *never* supply information. Students aren’t paying premium prices for ‘information’ at all. How can people who presumably have attended universities misunderstand their role so badly?
porcupunk.bsky.social Vlad K. @porcupunk.bsky.social · 28d
Wow. Just wow.

"Students pay premium prices for information that AI now delivers instantly and for free. A business student can ask ChatGPT to explain supply chain optimization or generate market analysis in seconds. The traditional lecture-and-test model faces its Blockbuster moment."
When Knowledge is Free, What are Professors For?
Higher Education Must Stop Competing with AI on Information and Start Teaching What Machines Can’t Do
www.forbes.com
October 16, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Reposted by Simon Blackburn
mooseallain.bsky.social
Top tip: Cheer up your garden library with some laurel and hardy annuals.
October 16, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Reposted by Simon Blackburn
chrisgiles.ft.com
There is no need for a moral panic about the UK's welfare system.

Far from perfect but recent discourse is nuts

Spending is controlled, not spiralling

Worklessness is near record lows

My column www.ft.com/content/ee67...
October 15, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Reposted by Simon Blackburn
tomgauld.bsky.social
My cartoon for this week’s @newscientist.com
A comic strip in six panels. The panels inerlock like a jigsaw with knobs and sockets. Two stick figures walk right to left through all the panels. Panel 1: Person 1 says "I hear you're working on a new theory." Panel 2 & 3: Person 2 says: "Yes, I'm calling it the jigsaw model. I think it could change our whole View of reality." Panel 4: Person 1 says "When Will you publish?: Panel 5: Person 2 says "But a couple of things are still bothering me." (this piece/panel is a bit squint) Panel 6: This piece is rotated ninety degees and fits to the others very badly. Person 2 is saying "Soon. I feel like I'm really close" A second look at the whole comic shows that the last two panels read in the wrong order because the jigsaw has been put together incorrectly.
October 12, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Reposted by Simon Blackburn
caitlindeangelis.bsky.social
We are realizing that we have no idea what British people think a “flapjack” is.
October 10, 2025 at 10:24 PM
simonrblackburn.bsky.social
What kind of average are LinkedIn using here? (This is a you-have-five-guesses game.) #MathSky
LinkedIn result for their Pinpoint game: Solved in 2. Today's average: 45461.
October 9, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Reposted by Simon Blackburn
garius.bsky.social
Just before he died I got to chat to Brian Clemens as part of a press junket for a remaster of The Professionals.

After about 3 polite-but-bored answers I said:

"Okay would you mind if we spent the rest of this talking about 'Bugs'? That show BLEW ME AWAY as a teen."

And he was so happy he cried.
robmanuelyeah.bsky.social Rob Manuel @robmanuelyeah.bsky.social · Oct 6
This YouTube comment probably deserves more than three favs
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzL8...
I once worked for Radio Rentals and one time I had to speak to a customer on the phone after he sent a complaint letter. After he spent about half an hour moaning about the service that he had received, I said I noticed it said he was a composer on his letter head and his name was Christopher Gunning. So I said are you the Christopher Gunning who did the music for the BBC’s Day of the Triffids, and he said he was, so I proceeded to tell him how amazing I thought his music was for the series, which I have loved ever since I first watched it aged 10. Well his whole attitude immediately changed and I think I really made his day. True story.
October 6, 2025 at 3:39 PM
simonrblackburn.bsky.social
Mushrooms seen on Horsell common this morning. Autumn has arrived.
Red mushrooms on a pinecone and pine needle covered ground. Lots of browns. Autumn is lovely.
October 5, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Reposted by Simon Blackburn
the-librarian.bsky.social
Billy Bragg has started a ‘reclaim the lampposts’ campaign and is happy to supply these stickers for you to attach to lampposts with flags on. If you want to call the Xenophobes out then send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Billy Bragg at Bragg Office PO Box 6830, Bridport DT6 9BH
October 4, 2025 at 7:03 PM