Earlier today i sent a derivation to the statmech group chat where I call the gamma function "my babygirl" bc I was being silly last night and forgot to clean it up 😭
At least once a week I am deeply thankful for the gamma function
November 4, 2025 at 4:07 AM
Earlier today i sent a derivation to the statmech group chat where I call the gamma function "my babygirl" bc I was being silly last night and forgot to clean it up 😭
i would be surprised if anyone built general-purpose optimization intuition on this one specifically, maybe once you generalize it to statmech for a lot of balls on a lot of hills
October 27, 2025 at 5:20 PM
i would be surprised if anyone built general-purpose optimization intuition on this one specifically, maybe once you generalize it to statmech for a lot of balls on a lot of hills
You don't need to know much about statmech for this, although it helps if you want to read papers on this subject: arxiv.org/pdf/1505.02780 or arxiv.org/pdf/1702.00850
Any physics model that predicts Boltzmann brains are overwhelmingly likely to be self-refuting, because that model (presumably)...
Any physics model that predicts Boltzmann brains are overwhelmingly likely to be self-refuting, because that model (presumably)...
arxiv.org
August 8, 2025 at 7:16 PM
You don't need to know much about statmech for this, although it helps if you want to read papers on this subject: arxiv.org/pdf/1505.02780 or arxiv.org/pdf/1702.00850
Any physics model that predicts Boltzmann brains are overwhelmingly likely to be self-refuting, because that model (presumably)...
Any physics model that predicts Boltzmann brains are overwhelmingly likely to be self-refuting, because that model (presumably)...
Semi-agree on the "needs of the state", but I don't have my thoughts well organized enough to articulate why "semi". I will say that the ABM/statmech world as I see it has a lot to do in building the kinds of tools/simplifications that could shift curricula and pragmatic internal policy decisions
February 1, 2024 at 7:27 PM
Semi-agree on the "needs of the state", but I don't have my thoughts well organized enough to articulate why "semi". I will say that the ABM/statmech world as I see it has a lot to do in building the kinds of tools/simplifications that could shift curricula and pragmatic internal policy decisions
Statmech is the glue that holds, well, honestly most of modern physics together.
August 24, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Statmech is the glue that holds, well, honestly most of modern physics together.
my blog ideas now are all queer/kink/SW topics (but should I launch the thing tho??)
& I dunno if I’m proud of my evolution or rueing the fall…
tbf I still got it if I want it, i DO hunt for papers on brain sci of DS/SM & fulfill ref inquiries from friends 😈
Just switched from arXiv to SciHub 😂
& I dunno if I’m proud of my evolution or rueing the fall…
tbf I still got it if I want it, i DO hunt for papers on brain sci of DS/SM & fulfill ref inquiries from friends 😈
Just switched from arXiv to SciHub 😂
December 1, 2024 at 4:39 AM
my blog ideas now are all queer/kink/SW topics (but should I launch the thing tho??)
& I dunno if I’m proud of my evolution or rueing the fall…
tbf I still got it if I want it, i DO hunt for papers on brain sci of DS/SM & fulfill ref inquiries from friends 😈
Just switched from arXiv to SciHub 😂
& I dunno if I’m proud of my evolution or rueing the fall…
tbf I still got it if I want it, i DO hunt for papers on brain sci of DS/SM & fulfill ref inquiries from friends 😈
Just switched from arXiv to SciHub 😂
brown did (and still does) a 5 question qual exam (classical, E&M, statmech, 2 QM) in the 2nd year. then when you're a year or so into your research (typically around year 3) you do a presentation about your research area to a group that may become your eventual committee.
November 29, 2024 at 5:16 PM
brown did (and still does) a 5 question qual exam (classical, E&M, statmech, 2 QM) in the 2nd year. then when you're a year or so into your research (typically around year 3) you do a presentation about your research area to a group that may become your eventual committee.
1/2
This semester, in addition to grad Statistical Mechanics, I am also teaching undergrad Capstone Preparation (which is a new prep for me). For grad Stat Mech, I am once I am using Jim Sethna's Entropy, Order Parameters, and Complexity which is a great book
sethna.lassp.cornell.edu/StatMech/
This semester, in addition to grad Statistical Mechanics, I am also teaching undergrad Capstone Preparation (which is a new prep for me). For grad Stat Mech, I am once I am using Jim Sethna's Entropy, Order Parameters, and Complexity which is a great book
sethna.lassp.cornell.edu/StatMech/
Entropy, Order Parameters, and Complexity
sethna.lassp.cornell.edu
February 3, 2025 at 12:03 AM
1/2
This semester, in addition to grad Statistical Mechanics, I am also teaching undergrad Capstone Preparation (which is a new prep for me). For grad Stat Mech, I am once I am using Jim Sethna's Entropy, Order Parameters, and Complexity which is a great book
sethna.lassp.cornell.edu/StatMech/
This semester, in addition to grad Statistical Mechanics, I am also teaching undergrad Capstone Preparation (which is a new prep for me). For grad Stat Mech, I am once I am using Jim Sethna's Entropy, Order Parameters, and Complexity which is a great book
sethna.lassp.cornell.edu/StatMech/
StatMech
November 30, 2024 at 5:50 AM
StatMech
From the PoV of StatMech, I see why some might find this distinction punctilious. I think it is worth separating them, because:
Relaxation is supposed to occur spontaneously, w/o intervention, universally. Explaining this is extremely challenging, and I am not certain the human race has succeeded.
Relaxation is supposed to occur spontaneously, w/o intervention, universally. Explaining this is extremely challenging, and I am not certain the human race has succeeded.
the idea of the "first thing" is that, since Boltmann's entropy is just phase volume, which is dynamically preserved, and because the max entropy cell is overwhelmingly the hugest, the fraction F that could move into a given smaller cell F' is just little in comparison and is ignored. okay but
June 23, 2025 at 11:22 PM
From the PoV of StatMech, I see why some might find this distinction punctilious. I think it is worth separating them, because:
Relaxation is supposed to occur spontaneously, w/o intervention, universally. Explaining this is extremely challenging, and I am not certain the human race has succeeded.
Relaxation is supposed to occur spontaneously, w/o intervention, universally. Explaining this is extremely challenging, and I am not certain the human race has succeeded.
Statistical mechanics knows how to start a story.
March 2, 2024 at 2:10 AM
Statistical mechanics knows how to start a story.
This essay from E Fox Keller
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
is a gem of a thought, an antidote v simplifications of living systems to genes or systems of ODE. Interesting contrast between complexity from #StatMech (disorganized) and #Biology (organized) and its implications
#MustRead
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
is a gem of a thought, an antidote v simplifications of living systems to genes or systems of ODE. Interesting contrast between complexity from #StatMech (disorganized) and #Biology (organized) and its implications
#MustRead
January 5, 2025 at 7:28 AM
This essay from E Fox Keller
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
is a gem of a thought, an antidote v simplifications of living systems to genes or systems of ODE. Interesting contrast between complexity from #StatMech (disorganized) and #Biology (organized) and its implications
#MustRead
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
is a gem of a thought, an antidote v simplifications of living systems to genes or systems of ODE. Interesting contrast between complexity from #StatMech (disorganized) and #Biology (organized) and its implications
#MustRead
I somehow ended up on a starter pack "people in quantum"
Let me clarify that my work is more of a statmech/condensed matter theory. I don't work in tech, and my knowledge of it is mostly "peripheral"
Let me clarify that my work is more of a statmech/condensed matter theory. I don't work in tech, and my knowledge of it is mostly "peripheral"
July 2, 2025 at 8:37 AM
I somehow ended up on a starter pack "people in quantum"
Let me clarify that my work is more of a statmech/condensed matter theory. I don't work in tech, and my knowledge of it is mostly "peripheral"
Let me clarify that my work is more of a statmech/condensed matter theory. I don't work in tech, and my knowledge of it is mostly "peripheral"
🔊Excited to share my recent publication on Fluctuation-dominated phase ordering(FDPO) in an Equilibrium 1D Truncated Inverse Distance Square Ising model, verifying analytical predictions on coarsening and steady state properties.@tifrhyderabad.bsky.social #STATMECH
journals.aps.org/pre/abstract...
journals.aps.org/pre/abstract...
Fluctuation-dominated phase ordering in the one-dimensional truncated inverse-distance square Ising model
Many physical systems, including some examples of active matter, granular assemblies, and biological systems, show fluctuation-dominated phase ordering (FDPO), where macroscopic fluctuations coexist w...
journals.aps.org
August 20, 2025 at 5:03 AM
🔊Excited to share my recent publication on Fluctuation-dominated phase ordering(FDPO) in an Equilibrium 1D Truncated Inverse Distance Square Ising model, verifying analytical predictions on coarsening and steady state properties.@tifrhyderabad.bsky.social #STATMECH
journals.aps.org/pre/abstract...
journals.aps.org/pre/abstract...
The first paper of the Lab is on the cover of Soft Matter! @softmatter-journal.bsky.social
pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/A...
Collective motion of particles with an energy depot JPMIranda @demianlevis.bsky.social and @chantalvaleriani.bsky.social. #activematter #statmech
pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/A...
Collective motion of particles with an energy depot JPMIranda @demianlevis.bsky.social and @chantalvaleriani.bsky.social. #activematter #statmech
February 7, 2025 at 1:57 PM
The first paper of the Lab is on the cover of Soft Matter! @softmatter-journal.bsky.social
pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/A...
Collective motion of particles with an energy depot JPMIranda @demianlevis.bsky.social and @chantalvaleriani.bsky.social. #activematter #statmech
pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/A...
Collective motion of particles with an energy depot JPMIranda @demianlevis.bsky.social and @chantalvaleriani.bsky.social. #activematter #statmech
i have looked at Caratheodory's formulation! and a few other axiomatic approaches. it was extremely interesting.
at this point i moreso have conceptual issues rather than mathematical ones, and not so much with Thermo itself but its relationship to StatMech. I've been saying a lot about this today.
at this point i moreso have conceptual issues rather than mathematical ones, and not so much with Thermo itself but its relationship to StatMech. I've been saying a lot about this today.
June 23, 2025 at 9:27 PM
i have looked at Caratheodory's formulation! and a few other axiomatic approaches. it was extremely interesting.
at this point i moreso have conceptual issues rather than mathematical ones, and not so much with Thermo itself but its relationship to StatMech. I've been saying a lot about this today.
at this point i moreso have conceptual issues rather than mathematical ones, and not so much with Thermo itself but its relationship to StatMech. I've been saying a lot about this today.
this is, in theory, possible, but would require being on a level of statmech that would instantly obliterate your face (like in Raiders of the Lost Ark)
September 7, 2025 at 7:21 AM
this is, in theory, possible, but would require being on a level of statmech that would instantly obliterate your face (like in Raiders of the Lost Ark)
Excellent, let me know! IMO, this is the BEST way to learn StatMech—comparing it with something else you're familiar with, like comparing internal energy to dissonance, entropy to complexity—and bringing what you already know to the table to learn the new thing better. Thanks!
November 26, 2024 at 9:42 PM
Excellent, let me know! IMO, this is the BEST way to learn StatMech—comparing it with something else you're familiar with, like comparing internal energy to dissonance, entropy to complexity—and bringing what you already know to the table to learn the new thing better. Thanks!
Wow, that's a simple process. It got the necessary math right and everything? (For a while, that was a sticking point.) Have you found anything it struggles on?
How much time did you give for your in-person exam? (What interesting Statmech questions are quick enough?)
How much time did you give for your in-person exam? (What interesting Statmech questions are quick enough?)
February 18, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Wow, that's a simple process. It got the necessary math right and everything? (For a while, that was a sticking point.) Have you found anything it struggles on?
How much time did you give for your in-person exam? (What interesting Statmech questions are quick enough?)
How much time did you give for your in-person exam? (What interesting Statmech questions are quick enough?)
same. my particular corner calls statmech scaling laws "scale symmetries"
May 7, 2025 at 5:16 PM
same. my particular corner calls statmech scaling laws "scale symmetries"
Put differently: even if I buy that ABMs/statmech is a more scientifically useful approach than umax/neoclassical, I am unsold on the notion that it's the former's ideology and politics that stop it from invading the mainstream more successfully
But maybe this is a question of definitions, idk
But maybe this is a question of definitions, idk
February 1, 2024 at 2:08 PM
Put differently: even if I buy that ABMs/statmech is a more scientifically useful approach than umax/neoclassical, I am unsold on the notion that it's the former's ideology and politics that stop it from invading the mainstream more successfully
But maybe this is a question of definitions, idk
But maybe this is a question of definitions, idk
Thermo/statmech side note: I had a terrible textbook with one wonderful sidebar: "the thermodynamic definition of 'never'." [I think it was a monkeys writing Shakespeare calculation, assuming a monkey that is equally likely to strike any key.]
New super-long physics blog post: Maxwell invents a demon, people get angry (1879). 🧪 skullsinthestars.com/2025/08/12/m...
Maxwell invents a demon, people get angry (1879)
Some time ago, I was browsing 150 year old popular science magazines as one does and I found an amusing editorial from 1879 in The Popular Science Monthly titled “Explanations that do not exp…
skullsinthestars.com
August 15, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Thermo/statmech side note: I had a terrible textbook with one wonderful sidebar: "the thermodynamic definition of 'never'." [I think it was a monkeys writing Shakespeare calculation, assuming a monkey that is equally likely to strike any key.]
Fwiw if the argument against consciousness being statmech is just "which statmech would that be" is just, well I think your response is good and I think the rebuttals I've heard are category errors.
October 14, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Fwiw if the argument against consciousness being statmech is just "which statmech would that be" is just, well I think your response is good and I think the rebuttals I've heard are category errors.
If there is indeed an edge to using ABM/statmech over neoclassical to make decisions in these kinds of contexts, I think there are opportunities to make that case.
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February 1, 2024 at 7:34 PM
If there is indeed an edge to using ABM/statmech over neoclassical to make decisions in these kinds of contexts, I think there are opportunities to make that case.
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