Hey!! Here's a new piece for @thepointau.bsky.social - Australia's gov is set to announce more details about data centre energy regulation, and I think it's VERY likely they'll come packaged with carbon offset style greenwashing tricks thepoint.com.au/opinions/260...

Very excited to announce the first @astronomyontap.bsky.social in Sydney, kicking off at the Endeavour Tap Rooms on September 8 with a triple-billing of Orsola De Marco, Peter Tuthill, and Nichole Barry! Come along for astronomy talks and beer - book your free tickets as we have limited space!

Astronomy On Tap - Sydney@astro-on-tap.sydney · 3d ago

We’re starting up Astronomy on Tap Sydney! Join us for our kickoff on 8 September, 6:30pm at the Endeavour Tap Rooms on the Rocks for astronomy talks and beer! Admission is free but tickets are limited - sign up at events.humanitix.com/astronomy-on...

Some initial thoughts, and a complicated mix of feelings. Wow. I mean, Erdos problems are cool (I genuinely mean that), I didn't know about the Jacobian conjecture before it got disproved. But this newest batch from OpenAI hits home in a way the previous announcements did not.

"We're all worried," as what it means to do research (in my field, Theoretical CS) seems to be shifting, and shifting fast. What to do? Senior researchers must lead by example, knowing that not everything will pan out. What I'm suggesting below may not work everywhere, but here's my own advice: 1/

TCS+, the longest-running theoretical #computerscience seminar, will soon resume for the Fall. Let us know what you'd like to hear about (results, speakers, topics), and any suggestions you may have! sites.google.com/view/tcsplus... #TCSSky @tcsplus.bsky.social

I was a guest on The Random Sample! Had a delightful conversation with Kate Smith-Miles

The Algorithm that Transformed Optimisation - with Dr Sophie Huiberts

Podcast Episode · The Random Sample · 29 July · 44min

podcasts.apple.com

Delighted to help organise and record Ep 128 with guest @sophie.huiberts.me and hosted by @optima-arc.bsky.social Kate Smith-Miles! It also discusses how Sophie brings her values into her research, teaching and outreach, using mathematics as a platform to engage with broader social issues 🧵1/3

The Random Sample@therandomsample.bsky.social · 7d ago

In our latest episode, we explore the Simplex Method - an algorithm that transformed optimisation and a question that continues to intrigue mathematicians: why is it so fast in practice, despite theoretical predictions that suggest it shouldn't be - with special guest @sophie.huiberts.me

The last bit really resonated with me. The biggest joy for me is in discovering connections between different problems and translating techniques between them

Nalini Joshi@monsoon0.bsky.social · last wk.

There’s a lovely video of Hong Wang from IHES, which is much happier than the one I saw at the #ICM2026 Fields medallists ceremony 📽️ youtu.be/3s35qhi_inU?...

Hmm… What about OnlyProofs?

kottke.org@kottke.org · last wk.

Here’s where we’re at in 2026: because of federal funding cuts, scientists are turning to OnlyFans to fund their research. Scientists tracking marmot populations launched OnlyMarms on the adult platform, inspired by Margo’s Got Money Troubles. [kottke.org]

next Greek epic for hollywood treatment needs to be Euclid's Elements. overdue

The WAVE (Women in Algorithms, Venture into Exploration) 2026 workshop will take place on Friday, 11 September 2026, at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Website: wave-workshop.github.io Registration free but mandatory. Register now!! Please spread the word. Write to us if you have queries.

Feeling proud for my first Chinese-Italian pun: 说 ciao ciao, 曹操走

“This result is folklore” is just academic jargon for IYKYK

Did it 👍 (eventually) [ #cuteart #illustration ]

🚨Attention Unimelb staff: Several hundred people are being evicted from the John Medley Building and shoved into inadequate temporary space with very little planning or consultation, or even a decent rationale, so they can knock it down. We'd like to stop that. linktr.ee/no.to.j.med....

I'm so glad Claude can work on research-level mathematics for me, freeing up my time to do more important things like cleaning the toilets.

Australia is nice it celebrates Christmas twice

3 recent major breakthroughs in algorithms and data structures: 1. Shortest path in almost linear time even for real negative weights arxiv.org/abs/2607.19346

Bellman-Ford in Almost-Linear Time

We consider the single-source shortest paths problem on a directed graph with real-valued (possibly negative) edge weights and solve this problem in $m^{1+o(1)}$ time.

arxiv.org

Jacobian conjecture 2: It works for everything except that particular counterexample.

I have been radicalized against my own work

TFW you attempt a proof on the whiteboard and it works and your student says “that’s cinema”

ALT:

static.klipy.com

HotCRP has this nice feature of counting down the time to the submission deadline. Feature request: play Verdi’s Requiem “Dies Irae” in the last minute before the deadline youtu.be/cHw4GER-MiE?...

BBC Prom 13 - Verdi Requiem - Dies Irae e Tuba Mirum

YouTube video by Gustavo Coppini

youtu.be

Liz, a teacher friend of mine, points out that Damon is Nomad spelled backwards. 🤣

It’s been 3 years since I moved here but this still cracks me up. We also have a Batman Park

ACM is considering giving large language models access to the papers in their digital library. cacm.acm.org/opinion... You can give feedback here: docs.google.com/form...

If I fits, I sits

The list of accepted papers at #FOCS2026 is out! sanjeevkhanna.org/FOCS2026_Acc...

This mathoverflow response by Bill Thurston feels particularly salient in these times. Some choice quotes: “The product of mathematics is clarity and understanding. Not theorems, by themselves.” mathoverflow.net/questions/43...

What's a mathematician to do?

I have to apologize because this is not the normal sort of question for this site, but there have been times in the past where MO was remarkably helpful and kind to undergrads with similar types of

mathoverflow.net

Help save Victoria’s zoos - please sign: www.megaphone.org.au/petitions/sa...

Save Victoria's Zoos

Thousands of native animals in need of care come to our Zoos, and yet Animal Hospital admin staff who do vital community response and animal data entry work are being cut, pushing that workload onto V...

megaphone.org.au