Francis Su

Tell your Italian friends: I'm speaking at two events in Italy a week from now:

A public event in Rome Sep 27 related to the Italian edition of my book: www.associazionetokalon.com/matematica-p...

Then at the Global Math Summit in Cagliari on Oct 1: www.globalmathsummit.com
Excited about both!

Come work with my fantastic colleagues! We have a job opening for someone in any area of operations research with a broad teaching porfolio.
See the ad:
math.hmc.edu/tenure-track...

Book cover

Look what arrived in the mail! Five years ago, I got a call from @profnoahgian.bsky.social to discuss my experiences writing a book for the general public. Since then, he’s written TWO… this one out today, and he was just recognized with JPBM award for mathematics communication. Congrats, Noah!

2025 Arnold Ross Lecture RSVP <p>The American Mathematical Society cordially invites you to attend a Zoom broadcast of the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ams.org/learning-careers/students/ross-...

RSVP at forms.monday.com/forms/1c3d5d...

Giving this lecture this Friday in San Francisco, also live-streamed on Zoom. The Ross Lectures highlight recent research in a way accessible to high school students. I’ll speak on work combining a lot of different types of math, but also offers some larger lessons about how math often gets done.

N4yo is into jokes, and is now improvising his own. He recently learned this one: “Knock knock.” “Who’s there?” “Cow.” “Cow who?” “No, cows moo!”

Here’s his new joke, which I thought was clever:
“Knock, knock.”
“Who’s there?”
“Toilet.”
“Toilet who?”
“No, toilet poo!”
🤣

The Subtle Art of the Dad Text (Gift Article) When it comes to corny jokes, random photos and sincere pep talks, father knows best.

Surprisingly funny, and touching. You’re welcome.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Mathematics for Human Flourishing Amazon.com: Mathematics for Human Flourishing: 9780300237139: Su, Francis, Jackson, Christopher: Books

Anyway, you should read Francis Su on this: www.amazon.com/Mathematics-...

This book really influenced me to see math as a kind of pump for all sorts of virtues-- patience, thoughtfulness, humility, etc.

I’m glad you resonate with its message. I’m a big fan of SMBC

Evaluative Criteria And Bayes’S Theorem Abstract. MY analysis to this point has suggested that Bayes’s theorem cannot account, in one way or the other, for the evidence of evil or for the explana

The new Pope (or a name twin, but I think it's actually him) wrote a book that features Bayes's Theorem. 👀

academic.oup.com/book/50039/c...

The new pope was an undergraduate mathematics major.

Can You Stop an Outbreak of a Contagious Disease? (Gift Article) An interactive explanation of outbreaks, vaccines and herd immunity.

Some great interactive simulations here, thanks to math.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

For anyone interested in taking a summer math course, I'm teaching Discrete Mathematics (Math 55) online this summer.

It's a 6-week course meeting online 3 days/week (MWF 8am-10:30am Pacific Time, May 28-July 2). More info:
www.hmc.edu/summer-sessi...

Apply here:
www.hmc.edu/summer-sessi...

Everyone should see “Counted Out”, a film by Vicki Abeles. This Pi Day (3/14), I'm moderating a panel after the screening at UCLA.

Register for the UCLA event here:
curtiscenter.math.ucla.edu/news/13050/

More about the film, and other screenings around the US: www.countedoutfilm.com/screenings

Hey so nice to see you Chris and hear what’s new with you!

YouTube video by caltech Environmental Impacts of Fires at the Wildland-Urban Interface

For all of us wanting advice about how to mitigate toxic ash/dust from the fires, this Caltech webinar is really excellent—very informative & practical. One takeaway: dust that they wiped off surfaces on campus had high levels of lead, but wet wipes are effective at cleaning.

youtu.be/VBg7wBCoSW8

Yes, definitely parallel! I love it: space potatoes

In one class, I confessed this, and spoke about how---in critical times---math can be a refuge from concerns of the world AND also build in us the patience to sit with hard problems that seem unsolvable and try to tackle them. It is good for me to remember: *that* is why I teach math.

First day of class. Wasn't ready, honestly. Coming back from two weeks of being in disaster mode---worrying about smoke, house-less friends, son's asthma, air quality, closed schools, toxic ash with lead and asbestos in it---how do I teach math? And yet... /1

Not on yesterday’s list. Hoping there another list coming.

Second round of hoping for a commutation for Christopher Jackson. Behind the scenes over the holidays we had a big push to get his case noticed by the right folks, with major help from Karen Saxe in the AMS Office in Washington DC, and Paul Boyer. Not sure if it will be enough, but hoping.

I left #JMM2025 early to take care of fire-related stuff. Sorry to miss some of you. Our house in Pasadena is okay but lots to deal with. I’ll leave you with a beautiful piece of math art (by Peter Kagey) that can be found at the exhibit halls.

Oops sorry. I added this note with the alt texts bsky.app/profile/math...

Sorry about forgetting the alt-texts. The images show the panel descriptions. The most important details are the time 3pm and locations 4C-3, Level Four, Seattle Convention Center for my panel on incarceration, and 4C-2 for the other one

Two justice oriented panels at #JMM2025 happening Wednesday (I’m moderating one of them):

The Mathematics of Mass Incarceration

How Can the Mathematical Community Mitigate Bias and Other EDI Issues in Al

Unfortunately they’re at the same time but right next to each other.

Let math (and python) help you make art. Mona Lisa with concentric circles. Try your own at: lifeislinear.davidson.edu/circleArt.html

Waving at the floats

Happy New Year 6^4 + 3^6! Thanks to my nephew, we had a last minute opportunity to view Rose Parade floats from seats right over Colorado Blvd. N4yo gave and received a lot of waves 👋

TEACHER VOICE: Instead of worrying about whether math is easy or difficult, let’s make it welcoming - The Hechinger Report There’s an assumption that teaching math should move students from “easy” to “difficult.” But easy and difficult are only proxies for two higher virtues, the actual qualities of successful instruction...

I love this from Ben Orlin.

“Mathematical truth may be black and white, but mathematical thinking is not.”

Also that maths class can be both welcoming and challenging.

hechingerreport.org/teacher-voic...

HMC professor Francis Su (@mathyawp.bsky.social) has been named a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society. Su's outstanding contributions to the creation, exposition, advancement, communication & utilization of mathematics has placed him among a select group who share this title. uqr.to/su-ams.

I like the symbolism of the design. Publisher chose it