David Bessis
@davidbessis.bsky.social
Rogue mathematician https://davidbessis.substack.com/
An essay by mathematician David Bessis on how AI theorem-proving could hollow out math, without advancing it. Submit to upvote on HN https://news.ycombinator.com/submitlink?u=https%3A%2F%2Fdavidbessis.substack.com%2Fp%2Fthe-fall-of-the-theorem-economy&t=The%20Fall%20of%20the%20Theorem%20Economy
The fall of the theorem economy
How AI could destroy mathematics and barely touch it
davidbessis.substack.com
While this essay is centred on mathematics, the gist is the same for any human conceptual thought facing AI Intelligence is process, path-walking, culture, collective, accretive #neuroskyence davidbessis.substack.com/p/the-fall-o...
The fall of the theorem economy
How AI could destroy mathematics and barely touch it
davidbessis.substack.com
Nice essay 👏 Mathematical discovery is another case, beyond language, where form and meaning come apart unnaturally in AI. The viability of AI for math depends on closing the gap with systems that can take AI-generated proofs too complex for humans to parse and present them so they make sense to us.
David Bessis@davidbessis.bsky.social · 4mo ago
I finished *Foucault's Pendulum*, then had a transformative experience with @davidbessis.bsky.social's fantastic *Mathematica*, then John Williams' *Stoner*, then Bird and Sherwin's *American Prometheus*, and now Italo Calvino's *Invisible Cities*. What a delightful week!
"Comprendre une notion mathématique, c'est apprendre à voir des choses que, jusqu'alors, on ne voyait pas. C'est apprendre a les trouver évidentes. C'est élever son état de conscience." - David Bessis, Mathematica - Une aventure au coeur de nous-mêmes, Éd.duSeuil,2022,p.47. #math #maths #mathematics
Great text by David Bessis! Read it all. He puts the finger on, and formulates very well, exactly what also bothers me about the AI-take of "solving" mathematics: davidbessis.substack.com/p/the-fall-o...
The fall of the theorem economy
How AI could destroy mathematics and barely touch it
davidbessis.substack.com
Not another textbook, just a great book about Mathematics. What do we really do when we "do" and "think" about Mathematics? I recommend without a doubt. #MathsToday
"Mathematics in the age of AI"—a one-hour conversation I had earlier this year, for an audience of machine-learning graduate students at Université Paris-Saclay. [In French] www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dTb...
Journée ImpAct 2026 - David Bessis
YouTube video by Institut DataIA Paris-Saclay
youtube.com
Bessis continues his run of being one of the most interesting and engaging popular intellectuals these days. open.substack.com/pub/davidbes...
Twins reared apart do not exist
The shaky science of genetic determinism
open.substack.com
Quel est l'intérêt de se lancer dans une carrière scientifique, si l'IA générale arrive ? Sur son blog, @davidbessis.bsky.social répond à cette difficile question posée par un doctorant. Vous ne lirez probablement rien de plus intéressant cette semaine. davidbessis.substack.com/p/letter-to-...
Letter to a PhD student
What's the point of intellectual work, if AGI is around the corner?
davidbessis.substack.com
Thanks to @cedricchin.bsky.social for arranging a group call with @davidbessis.bsky.social definitely going to be reading his book about how maths is really done, see davidbessis.substack.com/p/thinking-f... for a taste
Thinking fast, slow, and super slow
How mathematicians train their intuition
davidbessis.substack.com
Il est arrivé… « Le Rectangle de Lascaux »rencontre le triangle des Éditions Odile Jacob ! Sortie en librairie mercredi 28 janvier. @editionsodilejacob.bsky.social @cnrs.fr @inserm.fr @college-de-france.fr @cedricvillani.bsky.social @davidbessis.bsky.social
This reminds me of John Nash's letter where he declined an offer for a prestigious chair at the University of Chicago because he was expecting to become Emperor of Antarctica.
@michel-broue.bsky.social · 7mo ago
I recently read "Mathematica" by David Bessis, and I think it's a fantastic book! Before I recommend it to everyone, I would love to hear from people who do mathematics, or at least prove a theorem now and then. Do you agree with Bessis' description of what mathematics is and what mathematicians do?
Taken at face value, "twins reared apart" studies seem to prove the IQ is almost entirely genetic. But when you look at the actual science, you realize that it is entirely inconclusive — the approach just doen't work! davidbessis.substack.com/p/twins-rear...
Twins reared apart do not exist
The shaky science of genetic determinism
davidbessis.substack.com
The mathematician David Bessis believes that mathematical skill is not innate, but learned. “Genius is not an essence. It’s a state. It’s a state that you build by doing a certain job.”
Mathematical Thinking Isn’t What You Think It Is | Quanta Magazine
The mathematician David Bessis claims that everyone is capable of, and can benefit greatly from, mathematical thinking.
quantamagazine.org
His book "Mathematica" is a real eye-opener. David Bessis describes accurately and vividly the way we perceive and manipulate mathematical objects. Colleagues who read it also felt he put into words what they had not been able to formulate about the mathematical process. Highly recommended.
Quanta Magazine@quantamagazine.org · 8mo agoThe mathematician David Bessis believes that mathematical skill is not innate, but learned. “Genius is not an essence. It’s a state. It’s a state that you build by doing a certain job.”
Just received this legitimate reader request: could I publish a French Substack, alongside the original English? (The same could be asked about my posts here.) I could, but it wouldn't be worth the effort. I'm writing for a global audience whose only lingua franca is English.
Russ Roberts’ “Econ Talk” is one of the most interesting podcasts. This episode with @davidbessis.bsky.social is truly fascinating. It got me thinking we should train students to think of research as “a dialogue between intuition and evidence.” podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
A Mind-Blowing Way of Looking at Math (with David Bessis)
Podcast Episode · EconTalk · 10/27/2025 · 1h 22m
podcasts.apple.com
“We seek numbness, avoidance of pain, oblivion...I wake up every day aiming at Christianity, and often can’t even land on Epicureanism.” @philipchristman.bsky.social sums up our times in his amazing @plough.bsky.social Book Tour Reviews: www.plough.com/en/topics/cu...
Book Tour: World Enough and Time
Phil Christman reviews Putting Ourselves Back in the Equation by George Musser, Mathematica: A Secret World of Intuition and Curiosity by David Bessis, Fully Alive by Elizabeth Oldfield, and Making Ti...
plough.com
Why you can't fit Terry Tao on a bell curve, and why genius is too extreme for genetics: davidbessis.substack.com/p/why-genes-...
Why genes can't explain genius
The mathematical structure of cognitive inequality
davidbessis.substack.com
If you're curious about absurdly over-engineered protocols for drawing winners of public giveaways — or if you just want a free copy of my book — take a look at my new long form post. davidbessis.substack.com/p/paperback-...
Paperback is in! — a cryptographic giveaway
Win a signed copy of Mathematica: A Secret World of Intuition and Curiosity
davidbessis.substack.com
"Successful math becomes so intuitive that it no longer feels like math." New long form post... davidbessis.substack.com/p/the-magic-...
The magic of mathematical intuition
Why the math you do understand feels stupidly easy
davidbessis.substack.com
