Vince Vatter
@vatter.bsky.social
Mathematician at the University of Florida. Here for the hot takes. Also @VinceVatter@mathstodon.xyz
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
people like years more than ever though. reliably, year X mentions peak during year X+2.
May 29, 2025 at 8:15 PM
people like years more than ever though. reliably, year X mentions peak during year X+2.
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
AI debt collector exhibiting speciesism
April 14, 2025 at 11:48 AM
AI debt collector exhibiting speciesism
Needless to say, A001339 is not the same sequence, does not count preferential arrangements, and neither sequence has anything to do with the egf 1⁄(2−exp(x)). All of this was completely made up.
April 13, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Needless to say, A001339 is not the same sequence, does not count preferential arrangements, and neither sequence has anything to do with the egf 1⁄(2−exp(x)). All of this was completely made up.
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
Want more superpermutation fun? My free article Containing All Permutations in the Mathematical Monthly covers this and related problems, and features, of course, Theorem 5 (Anonymous 4chan poster).
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
March 3, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Want more superpermutation fun? My free article Containing All Permutations in the Mathematical Monthly covers this and related problems, and features, of course, Theorem 5 (Anonymous 4chan poster).
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
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.
Contrapositives are for cowards. Behold.
![Theorem. If $n$ is an integer and $n^2$ is even, then $n$ is itself even.
Proof. Contrapositives are for cowards, so assume $n$ is an integer and $n^2$ is even. Then $n^2=2k$ for some integer $k$, and thus $n^2-2k=0$. Behold:
\[ n = n + (n^2-2k) = n(n+1)-2k. \]
Both $n(n+1)$ and $2k$ are even, so $n$ is even.
QED.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4wrxafbsjycxbpjo4e42ht6q/bafkreihucnue4bdyzulcrzddytan5ttdx56rg5ci6cn4vhxw5lebnbdzma@jpeg)
January 22, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Contrapositives are for cowards. Behold.
"I decided to roll out my own LLM benchmark: how well can different models render an SVG of a pelican riding a bicycle?"
simonwillison.net/2024/Oct/25/...
simonwillison.net/2024/Oct/25/...
December 16, 2024 at 6:44 PM
"I decided to roll out my own LLM benchmark: how well can different models render an SVG of a pelican riding a bicycle?"
simonwillison.net/2024/Oct/25/...
simonwillison.net/2024/Oct/25/...
unfortunately the price was determined using new math so I didn’t buy it
December 13, 2024 at 11:16 PM
unfortunately the price was determined using new math so I didn’t buy it
why the romans never invented algebra
November 14, 2024 at 5:01 PM
why the romans never invented algebra
what % of the population can enter their birthdate in this format?
November 9, 2024 at 6:40 PM
what % of the population can enter their birthdate in this format?
this is not how temperature works
October 30, 2024 at 12:01 PM
this is not how temperature works
uhh all of the above?
October 19, 2024 at 11:54 PM
uhh all of the above?