Joshua Bowman
@thalesdisciple.bsky.social
Associate professor of mathematics.
Hymn aficionado.
Large absent-minded spirit.
Resist simple narratives.
Cultivate an abolitionist imagination.
Hymn aficionado.
Large absent-minded spirit.
Resist simple narratives.
Cultivate an abolitionist imagination.
Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation: “The[se things] are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.”
November 27, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation: “The[se things] are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.”
This is your annual reminder that you can add spices to your coffee grounds before brewing. Start with 1/8 teaspoon of cloves. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice are also nice.
November 26, 2025 at 4:56 PM
This is your annual reminder that you can add spices to your coffee grounds before brewing. Start with 1/8 teaspoon of cloves. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice are also nice.
What’s your favorite trick for reducing the tearful effect of cutting onions? I learned to burn a candle nearby.
Happy Feast of Sharp Knives, Onions, and Tears to those who celebrate.
November 26, 2025 at 4:44 PM
What’s your favorite trick for reducing the tearful effect of cutting onions? I learned to burn a candle nearby.
Reposted by Joshua Bowman
My unpopular Wicked opinion is that the Wizard’s numbers are good, actually, because they’re villain songs that are suited to the story.
November 25, 2025 at 9:50 PM
My unpopular Wicked opinion is that the Wizard’s numbers are good, actually, because they’re villain songs that are suited to the story.
Anyway I took daughter and one of her friends to For Good, and they came out singing “Eleka nahmen nahmen ah tum ah tum eleka nahmen” so it was a successful outing.
November 25, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Anyway I took daughter and one of her friends to For Good, and they came out singing “Eleka nahmen nahmen ah tum ah tum eleka nahmen” so it was a successful outing.
My unpopular Wicked opinion is that the Wizard’s numbers are good, actually, because they’re villain songs that are suited to the story.
November 25, 2025 at 9:50 PM
My unpopular Wicked opinion is that the Wizard’s numbers are good, actually, because they’re villain songs that are suited to the story.
Reposted by Joshua Bowman
tech bro: i have made Artificial General Intelligence
programmer: you fucked up a perfectly good calculator is what you did. look at it. it's got anxiety
programmer: you fucked up a perfectly good calculator is what you did. look at it. it's got anxiety
I’ve been running around asking tech execs and academics if language was the same as intelligence for over a year now - and, well, it isn’t. @benjaminjriley.bsky.social explains how the bubble is built on ignoring cutting-edge research into the science of thought www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
November 25, 2025 at 5:12 PM
tech bro: i have made Artificial General Intelligence
programmer: you fucked up a perfectly good calculator is what you did. look at it. it's got anxiety
programmer: you fucked up a perfectly good calculator is what you did. look at it. it's got anxiety
Reposted by Joshua Bowman
Journalist challenge: Use “Machine Learning” when you mean machine learning and “LLM” when you mean LLM. Ditch “AI” as a catch-all term, it’s not useful for readers and it helps companies trying to confuse the public by obscuring the roles played by different technologies. 🧪
November 22, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Journalist challenge: Use “Machine Learning” when you mean machine learning and “LLM” when you mean LLM. Ditch “AI” as a catch-all term, it’s not useful for readers and it helps companies trying to confuse the public by obscuring the roles played by different technologies. 🧪
Reposted by Joshua Bowman
This is an amazing fact
8675309 is prime, and so is 8675311, so if you ever need a middlin'-large pair of adjacent primes to test your cryptographic suite, all you need is a 1980s earworm and a +2 and you're all set.
Man, everything is so bleak, anyone got a fun fact or little bit of trivia they want to share
November 21, 2025 at 4:50 AM
This is an amazing fact
Reposted by Joshua Bowman
“The people in this book are brave,” said Toad. “They fight dragons and giants, and they are never afraid.”
“I wonder if we are brave,” said Frog.
“I wonder if we are brave,” said Frog.
November 20, 2025 at 2:37 PM
“The people in this book are brave,” said Toad. “They fight dragons and giants, and they are never afraid.”
“I wonder if we are brave,” said Frog.
“I wonder if we are brave,” said Frog.
Reposted by Joshua Bowman
K just texted me this, and now you can see it too
November 19, 2025 at 8:30 PM
K just texted me this, and now you can see it too
Reposted by Joshua Bowman
Your computer algebra system insists on rendering \sin (x) ^2 instead of \sin ^2 (x)?
Problematic sage gap
Problematic sage gap
Hamlet falls through the floor after reciting his soliloquy?
Problematic stage gap.
Problematic stage gap.
Bored with your 12 volume high fantasy epic but not ready to quit in favor of cozy romance?
Problematic page gap
Problematic page gap
November 20, 2025 at 4:36 AM
Your computer algebra system insists on rendering \sin (x) ^2 instead of \sin ^2 (x)?
Problematic sage gap
Problematic sage gap
Hamlet falls through the floor after reciting his soliloquy?
Problematic stage gap.
Problematic stage gap.
Bored with your 12 volume high fantasy epic but not ready to quit in favor of cozy romance?
Problematic page gap
Problematic page gap
Not enough casters in your DnD party?
Problematic mage gap.
Problematic mage gap.
November 20, 2025 at 4:21 AM
Hamlet falls through the floor after reciting his soliloquy?
Problematic stage gap.
Problematic stage gap.
Reposted by Joshua Bowman
[finally integrating algebra & geometry]
me: now remember, when you have a function that sends x to ax²+bx+c, what role do the coefficients play?
students: a² + b² = c²?
me:
students:
me: now remember, when you have a function that sends x to ax²+bx+c, what role do the coefficients play?
students: a² + b² = c²?
me:
students:
November 19, 2025 at 11:23 PM
[finally integrating algebra & geometry]
me: now remember, when you have a function that sends x to ax²+bx+c, what role do the coefficients play?
students: a² + b² = c²?
me:
students:
me: now remember, when you have a function that sends x to ax²+bx+c, what role do the coefficients play?
students: a² + b² = c²?
me:
students:
Reposted by Joshua Bowman
On the contrary: they have found Jesus, but have simply failed to recognize him
November 18, 2025 at 5:19 PM
On the contrary: they have found Jesus, but have simply failed to recognize him
Reposted by Joshua Bowman
Here is a nice tile floor.
November 17, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Here is a nice tile floor.
Meet Pinky and the Brain,
Who want to rule the universe.
Goodfeathers flock together—
Slappy wacks them with her purse.
Buttons chases Mindy,
While Rita sings a verse.
The writers flipped;
We have no script!
Why bother to rehearse?
Who want to rule the universe.
Goodfeathers flock together—
Slappy wacks them with her purse.
Buttons chases Mindy,
While Rita sings a verse.
The writers flipped;
We have no script!
Why bother to rehearse?
November 15, 2025 at 5:57 AM
Meet Pinky and the Brain,
Who want to rule the universe.
Goodfeathers flock together—
Slappy wacks them with her purse.
Buttons chases Mindy,
While Rita sings a verse.
The writers flipped;
We have no script!
Why bother to rehearse?
Who want to rule the universe.
Goodfeathers flock together—
Slappy wacks them with her purse.
Buttons chases Mindy,
While Rita sings a verse.
The writers flipped;
We have no script!
Why bother to rehearse?
Reposted by Joshua Bowman
Every time Covid and learning loss hits the news, people act like the only factor is folk staying home and learning online, rather than… Living through a global mass death event.
November 14, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Every time Covid and learning loss hits the news, people act like the only factor is folk staying home and learning online, rather than… Living through a global mass death event.
Reposted by Joshua Bowman
this is why the humanities should be mandatory
This is a real flight school, teaching people to fly planes!!! Like????
November 14, 2025 at 5:31 PM
this is why the humanities should be mandatory
Reposted by Joshua Bowman
so my friends: are any of you (or someone you know) an expert on post-main sequence stellar evolution and/or planets in post-main sequence star systems? 👉👈😬🧪🔭
this throws my whole fucking schedule off for the next several days because they couldn't be bothered to let me know they were blowing me off. Now instead of being able to finish writing, I have to find another source NOW.
November 14, 2025 at 2:58 PM
so my friends: are any of you (or someone you know) an expert on post-main sequence stellar evolution and/or planets in post-main sequence star systems? 👉👈😬🧪🔭
Reposted by Joshua Bowman
Bruno Martelli: A 4-dimensional pseudo-Anosov homeomorphism https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.10530 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2511.10530 https://arxiv.org/html/2511.10530
November 14, 2025 at 6:38 AM
Bruno Martelli: A 4-dimensional pseudo-Anosov homeomorphism https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.10530 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2511.10530 https://arxiv.org/html/2511.10530
Reposted by Joshua Bowman
I'm leading the session "Braids and Knots in Mathematics" at Reed's Open Days science outreach event this Saturday November 15. The event is free and open to all (registration and waiver required). If you're based near Portland, I'd love to see you there! www.reed.edu/academics/sp...
November 14, 2025 at 3:40 AM
I'm leading the session "Braids and Knots in Mathematics" at Reed's Open Days science outreach event this Saturday November 15. The event is free and open to all (registration and waiver required). If you're based near Portland, I'd love to see you there! www.reed.edu/academics/sp...
Reposted by Joshua Bowman
Curved circular creases of annuli. A construction by Erik and Martin Demaine (all rights reserved). Several annuli intertwined.
#MathSky #MathArt #Geometry #Origami
More examples: erikdemaine.org/curved/)
#MathSky #MathArt #Geometry #Origami
More examples: erikdemaine.org/curved/)
November 14, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Curved circular creases of annuli. A construction by Erik and Martin Demaine (all rights reserved). Several annuli intertwined.
#MathSky #MathArt #Geometry #Origami
More examples: erikdemaine.org/curved/)
#MathSky #MathArt #Geometry #Origami
More examples: erikdemaine.org/curved/)
Reposted by Joshua Bowman
Daina Taimina, a Cornell University mathematician uses crochet to demonstrate Hyperbolic Geometry #womensart
November 13, 2025 at 5:53 AM
Daina Taimina, a Cornell University mathematician uses crochet to demonstrate Hyperbolic Geometry #womensart
Chat, does this apply to academia?
"Even though my job requires me to commit sociopathic acts of evil that directly contribute to making the world a measurably worse place from Monday through Friday, five days a week, from morning to night, outside work, I’m actually a really good person."
I Work For an Evil Company, but Outside Work, I’m Actually a Really Good Person
I love my job. I make a great salary, there’s a clear path to promotion, and a never-ending supply of cold brew in the office. And even though my j...
buff.ly
November 13, 2025 at 2:37 AM
Chat, does this apply to academia?