Notices by Charlotte Aten (caten@mathstodon.xyz)

@terminaltilt Aren't you just proposing to create a single point of failure where I remember one weak password (for the password manager) instead of a dozen?

Here's a totally off-the-cuff pitch for the #p2p web: I just want to be able to load a webpage from a #bittorrent swarm by leeching, and then click an "I approve" button if it looks non-sketchy and I want to seed the page. I want to bookmark magnet links to make human-readable URLs and allow collisions between actual names/content to be decided socially (e.g. click to accept a new version of this page from this new swarm). I don't want a bunch of new protocols. No #crypto for domain names or donations. No vibe-coded corporate-sponsored AI BS. No #GitHub repos. Just give me the wild west with everything visible and no default seeding so that bad actors don't bother with it so much. Run it through a #VPN or something if you want privacy.

#web3 #internet #indieweb #foss #dweb

I didn't realize that in categorical algebra one would be considered a «loser» for using the word variety to refer to a category which is merely equivalent to a full subcategory of Alg T specified by equations rather than the classical case of a variety in the sense of universal algebra. To be honest, I've never seen any textbook discuss a «loser version» of a definition before.

#algebra #CategoryTheory #math #UniversalAlgebra #logic

I know that the US health insurance system is terrible, but I got a really great illustration of it recently. I have to do regular injections with a hypodermic needle. Years ago, my physician pointed out to me that I should buy the needles and syringes online because it would be way cheaper and more convenient.

A couple months ago, I ran out of needles and forgot to order more. In order to make sure I got something soon, I tried ordering through my employer-provided health insurance (that's through the Colorado state government) as well as privately. No pharmacy in town would sell me needles without a prescription, perhaps in an attempt to combat recreational intravenous drug use.

Insurance gave me 4 needles and 12 syringes. That's a month supply of needles, plus 8 more syringes. Total cost per injection: $2.31

A private purchase yielded 100 needles and 100 syringes, a two-year supply. Total cost per injection: $0.31

Each year insurance would charge me $120 for the same thing I can get online for $16. I need that $100, and I don't want to order 4 new needles every single month.

Why do we even use insurance at all? You can't get a doctor's appointment or buy many drugs without it. Total racket.

#medicine #HealthInsurance #insurance #USpol #health

@anemofilia Neat! Although I think flipping the radical has a better shot at widespread use due to the amount of space the triangle notation takes up.

Why don't we write the logarithm like this? It feels like teaching students what logarithms are is way more painful than teaching roots, but this notation emphasizes that they are perfectly analogous.

I can provide my rough #TexLatex source for this if people are interested.

#math #teaching #notation

@oantolin For whatever it's worth, I'm American and I don't think you're overreacting. For similar reasons I'd only leave the US in the near future if I didn't intend to return. Flying here is a bit scary now, anyway.

This is a friendly reminder that
((1+𝑥)ʸ+(1+𝑥+𝑥²)ʸ)ˣ⋅((1+𝑥³)ˣ+(1+𝑥²+𝑥⁴)ˣ)ʸ=((1+𝑥)ˣ+(1+𝑥+𝑥²)ˣ)ʸ⋅((1+𝑥³)ʸ+(1+𝑥²+𝑥⁴)ʸ)ˣ for all natural numbers \(x\) and \(y\), but this formula is impossible to obtain by using only those arithmetic laws taught in high school. Credit for this goes to Alex Wilkie, who found this in the 1980s.

#math #algebra #logic #UniversalAlgebra #AbstractAlgebra

I updated my bio. I am still interested in machine learning, and I am continuing my own projects in this area, but this terminology has become synonymous with an ideology and culture to which I am diametrically opposed.

There is great value in tools like optical character recognition, speech recognition, and machine translation (when ethically applied). However, the current regime selling machine learning tools as products is completely disconnected from what I would view as a healthy and productive contribution to society.

I would still like to contribute to practical applications of mathematics in the world, and I hope that academia will continue to support my efforts to contribute in a way that supports everyone, not just a small cadre of plutocrats.

#MachineLearning #AI #math #ethics #research