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Charlotte Aten

@caten@mathstodon.xyz
mastodon 4.6.4
  • Open on mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

780 Followers
191 Following
44 Posts
Joined June 21, 2023
Homepage:
https://aten.cool
PeerTube:
https://videos.trom.tf/a/caten/video-channels
Pronouns:
she/her

Posts

Open post
caten
Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Jul 29, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
Since Detexify is now #AI slop, I have updated my one-pager of advice for learning mathematics to recommend The Comprehensive LaTeX Symbol List (https://tug.ctan.org/info/symbols/comprehensive/symbols-a4.pdf) for finding symbols. This is kind of a bad solution, since Detexify solved the problem of knowing how to draw the symbol without knowing its name with a very appropriate use of traditional image recognition. It is absurd that there is no #FLOSS tool I can recommend instead. If no one builds it first, it'll go on my list of things to do. My one-pager: https://aten.cool/one_pager.html Sloppified Detexify: https://detexify.kirelabs.org/#/about #NoAI #LLM #math #mathematics #Tex #LaTeX #TeXLaTeX #MachineLearning #ImageRecognition #NeuralNetworks
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caten
Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Jul 27, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
Do you find it annoying when socks don't even last a single decade before getting holes in them? I used to sew them back together, but I recently realized that I don't need to. Socks tend to get thinner as they age and develop holes in different places. By wearing two socks on a single foot, the holes in each one are covered by the other and the overall thickness is correct. My partner has listened to me boast about this discovery one too many times, so I thought I should share it with Mastodon instead. #mending #sewing #clothing #socks
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caten
Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Jul 27, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
Sitting at desktop computer: "That's enough Mastodon for now, time to do something else." Opens phone: "Let's check out Mastodon really quick." #Mastodon #internet #humor
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caten
Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Jul 15, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
I gather that #ImageMagick is including #LLM code now. Is there an alternative which provides similar functionality from the command line? #software #FOSS #noAI #AI #graphics #GraphicsProgramming
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caten
Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Jul 15, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
Replying to @sb@metroholografix.ca
@sb@metroholografix.ca I miss the days when Torvalds was a "woke communist". I hope and fear that a successful hard fork of Linux is coming.
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caten
Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Jun 29, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
Replying to @highergeometer@mathstodon.xyz
@highergeometer@mathstodon.xyz I'm not sure that I've encountered this usage before. Can you point out a paper where this occurs?
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caten
Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Jun 29, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz

While teaching a course on algebraic theories last semester I mentioned at some point that the familiar bicomplete categories Top and Poset were not algebraic, but were topological. A student asked about this later on and I found that the #Wikipedia page on «topological category» pointed to categories enriched in Top, not categories with a forgetful functor to Set which is topological. While I have lost a lot of faith in Wikipedia recently, I am pleased to report that https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topological_category is now a disambiguation page.

#math #mathematics #topology #algebra #CategoryTheory

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caten
Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Jun 26, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
Replying to @mothership@mstdn.social
@mothership@mstdn.social I'm sorry but am I the only one who finds the idiosyncratic coloring of the text wildly distracting? Am I missing a pattern here?
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caten
Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Jun 26, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
Replying to @nuwagaba2@mastodon.social
@nuwagaba2@mastodon.social I'm not adding anything else at the moment, just sharing a fun thing that happened with the succulent already growing in that pot.
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caten
Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Jun 26, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
Replying to @dougmerritt@mathstodon.xyz
@dougmerritt@mathstodon.xyz It is true that the conditions around that soil changed recently. Maybe I'll get a clue if I identify that mushroom and it's not usually found here.
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caten
Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Jun 26, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
Replying to @nuwagaba2@mastodon.social
@nuwagaba2@mastodon.social Maybe a couple months. At the start it was still a bit cold since winter lasted unusually long.
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caten
Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Jun 26, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz

I've had this succulent for over a decade and recently its pot sprouted mushrooms for the first time. They lasted about one day. All I can figure is that spores got in through the open window.

#gardening #nature #succulent #fungi #fungus #mushtodon #mushroom #mushrooms #plants

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caten
Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Jun 26, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
Replying to @mrdk@mathstodon.xyz
@mrdk@mathstodon.xyz Fair point, but since the part about a hypercomputer built around a closed timelike curve is more fiction than science, let's just say the hypercomputer is still more resource-intensive than that.
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caten
Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Jun 25, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
Replying to @caten@mathstodon.xyz
Under these circumstances, there is a "correct" use of the hypercomputer. While a civilization could use it to compute some strategy in a war, upload themselves into it for a form of immortality, or create a new world by instructing it to run some kind of Game of Life (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway%27s_Game_of_Life) program, a more practical use would be to compute the first few thousand digits of Chaitin's constant for a programming language. This is possible because we can finitely describe "attempt to run every possible source code and record if the result halts", we just need an infinite amount of time in order to finish the task. Importantly, although we can't know the exact value of \(\Omega\), the first few thousand digits are about just as good for mortal purposes. I always imagined that, in the story, one civilization would be unsubtle and look down on the other, which would only want to use the hypercomputer for the "academic" purpose of knowing \(\Omega\) approximately, only to realize that this knowledge is possibly the most practical use of the machine. (3/3) #math #mathematics #ComputerScience #hypercomputer #programming #microfiction #ScienceFiction #physics #BlackHole #ClosedTimelikeCurve #relativity #probability
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caten
Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Jun 25, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
Replying to @caten@mathstodon.xyz
When I learned about this as an undergraduate I started telling people the following story: Suppose that, simultaneously, two space-faring civilizations discover a naturally-occurring closed timelike curve (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed_timelike_curve) around a nearby black hole. Suppose further that these civilizations both know that this structure can be used to build a hypercomputer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypercomputation) a machine that can perform an infinite number of classical computational steps in a finite amount of time. In order to make our story more realistic, we add the following constraints: (1) The hypercomputer can correctly perform an infinite calculation, but it must be described by a finite program. (2) The hypercomputer can access an arbitrarily large amount of memory during calculation, but there is a fixed finite size for its output after the infinite calculation is over. (3) A massive amount of resources are needed for each use of the hypercomputer. Perhaps it breaks after each use. (2/3) #math #mathematics #ComputerScience #hypercomputer #programming #microfiction #ScienceFiction #physics #BlackHole #ClosedTimelikeCurve #relativity #probability
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Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Jun 25, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz

While organizing some files today I came across my copy of Charles H. Bennett's "On Random and Hard-to-Describe Numbers" from 1979 (https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/9789812770837_0001). It discusses Chaitin's constant (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaitin%27s_constant) for a programming language, which is the probability \(\Omega\) that a randomly-chosen program will compile. This is a real number between 0 and 1 which is definable but not computable.

Bennett goes on to discuss the "Cabalistic" properties of \(\Omega\). Knowing the first few thousand digits of \(\Omega\) would allow one to decide practically all finitely refutable mathematical conjectures. Basically, \(\Omega\) is a very compact encoding of the Halting Problem (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halting_problem), so knowing its first \(n\) bits is enough to determine whether any program up to \(n\) bits in length would eventually halt. While there are some exceptions, many open problems in mathematics can be phrased in terms of the halting of some computer program of reasonably short length.

(1/3)

#math #mathematics #ComputerScience #hypercomputer #programming #microfiction #ScienceFiction #physics #BlackHole #ClosedTimelikeCurve #relativity #probability

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caten
Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Jun 18, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz

Earlier this summer I read the 1926 fantasy novel "Lud-in-the-Mist" by Hope Mirrlees. In addition to being amused with reading the novel exactly 100 years since its publication, I was surprised at how modern its depiction of Faerie felt. I won't spoil it more than that, but you can get a copy at Project Gutenberg if you'd like to check it out:

https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/68061

#literature #fantasy #Faerie #fae #fey #fairy #fairies #ProjectGutenberg #1920s

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caten
Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Jun 13, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz

@dirtwizard666@cyberpunk.lol I like that JSON-like databases are just valid Lua scripts, so it's a nice replacement for Python + JSON.

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caten
Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Jun 13, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz

@dirtwizard666@cyberpunk.lol What about #Lua ?

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caten
Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Jun 01, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz

My partner and I have started to settle in to our new living situation, which means that I can start posting more regularly and putting more time into #math research again. Nature is being good to us. Check out this toad I found.

#mathematics #nature #solarpunk #toad #toads #toadsofmastodon

mathstodon.xyz

Mathstodon

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caten
Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Apr 22, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
Replying to @travisfw@fosstodon.org
@travisfw@fosstodon.org Yeah, I did wish for something like that. I've done some research and I have an idea I'd like to try implementing. I'm about to have more free time for such things, so you may hear an update about it later this year.
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Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Apr 22, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
Replying to @jonmsterling@mathstodon.xyz
@jonmsterling This makes me wonder whether our era might be seen in the future as something like the Italian school of algebraic geometry circa 1900. A lot of good work could be lost simply because it is easier to start over than to pick through a sea of garbage for something of value.
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Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Apr 22, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz

My experiment with #selfhosting a code forge using #Forgejo has come to an end. Even though it wasn't too expensive to rent a VPS, I still disliked having another form of rent to pay. I'd much rather be hosting something from my own hardware at home. In addition to this, my current use-case doesn't seem to justify the effort it takes to properly maintain the service.

I had a couple projects I was sharing on my website via this code forge, both of which used to be on #GitHub. I've realized they work better as static files/archives you can download directly. They're tiny and there's no need for a live web application to share them.

I did learn a lot by setting up the Forgejo instance, including how to use wildcard #SSL certificates and #nginx. I took copious notes, so I'll probably have a much smoother time of it if I try hosting another web application at some point.

For projects that are better served by a Forgejo instance, I've made a #Codeberg account:

https://codeberg.org/caten

#VPS #software #programming #WebDev #WebDevelopment #WebApplication

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Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Apr 17, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
Replying to @Lilyana@tech.lgbt
@Lilyana@tech.lgbt It seems to be forcing a check that I didn't ask for. I actually turned off "https everywhere" in the settings and I still get this.
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Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Apr 16, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz

The text of the proposed US federal operating system identity monitoring bill has been posted:

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/8250/text

#fascism #OperatingSystem #USpol #Linux #AgeVerification #surveillance #FOSS #law #legal #technology

Text - H.R.8250 - 119th Congress (2025-2026): Parents Decide Act
www.congress.gov

Text - H.R.8250 - 119th Congress (2025-2026): Parents Decide Act

Text for H.R.8250 - 119th Congress (2025-2026): Parents Decide Act

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Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Apr 16, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
Replying to @soaproot@sfba.social
@soaproot@sfba.social I agree, although I was a bit sarcastic about it yesterday because I only learned of this by word of mouth and feel like it's the type of thing that would be kept quiet, even if there was evidence of a connection.
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Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Apr 16, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
Replying to @caten@mathstodon.xyz
Unfortunately, someone decided to delete these references. I guess it would be a mistake to point out such a pattern on the internet. For all we know it's just a coincidence.
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Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Apr 15, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz

I'm aware that #Wikipedia can be quite quick with articles on current events, and that the results are not always of a high quality initially, but I'm really impressed that the article on last week's warehouse fire in Ontario, California (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Kimberly-Clark_distribution_center_fire) is the only place I've seen reporting on the recent string of similar fires collected in one place. I'll have to remember to check Wikipedia for such things more often.

#USpol #news #KimberlyClark #capitalism #AntiCapitalism #California

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Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Apr 15, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
Replying to @annika@xoxo.zone
@annika@xoxo.zone I've had this some up in a couple different situations and I'd rather just disable this check completely than manually deal with each case.
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Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Apr 15, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
Replying to @kepstin@tenforward.social
@kepstin@tenforward.social Yeah unfortunately on Librewolf I'm getting this every time for the same exact local address. It looks like I'll have some work ahead of me if I want to overcome this. I definitely would be willing to completely disable local security certificate checks on Librewolf, if I could.
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Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Apr 15, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
Replying to @MyWoolyMastadon@toot.community
@MyWoolyMastadon@toot.community Huh, it looks like this was already done. Either I did it before and forgot or Librewolf alters these settings automatically. Thanks, in any case.
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Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Apr 15, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
Replying to @Lilyana@tech.lgbt
@Lilyana@tech.lgbt I'm not using https on anything local, to my knowledge.
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Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Apr 14, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz

I've posted a one-pager of advice for mathematics students (both undergraduate and graduate) on my website:

https://aten.cool/one_pager.html

I wrote a draft of this a couple years ago. I now feel a little strange posting it as I leave the university system. I certainly don't approve of many things the AMS has done recently, for instance. Still, I hope that this information is useful for current students and that one day I'll be able to update it with pointers towards people and groups that I can whole-heartedly support.

#math #mathematics #university #academia #research #advice #education #AMS #AmericanMathematicalSociety

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Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Apr 14, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz

Does anyone know how to make this patronizing warning go away in #Librewolf? I have to suffer through this every time I want to visit a local address, and I don't want to just start manually adding all the addresses I visit. I'd just like to turn the thing off completely.

If I can figure this out, I might try to do the same for the "no HTTPS" warning.

#WebBrowser #HTTPS #HTTP #web #internet #Firefox #networking #security #Mozilla

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Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Apr 13, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz

Acabo de leer el cuento Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius por Jorge Luis Borges por primera vez. Hace años leí un resumen de este cuento en íngles y aunque no hablo español con mucha fluidez las palabras matemáticas y las ideas lingüísticas familiares me ayudaron entender. Espero que puedo leer y escribir con fluidez finalmente. Leer parece más fácil que mirar las películas para aprender el idioma.

#literatura #Borges #JorgeLuisBorges #matemática #matemáticas #math #lingüística #Español

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Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Apr 11, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz

Another #Lua observation: I had gotten in the habit of using the #Python #JSON library for storing and reading small amounts of data. I'm quite set on switching over to #LuaLang wherever I used Python before and it's so nice to just write my database files in the same language as the code itself.

I'm aware I could write my data as a Python script and import it, but this felt less natural than the analogous construction in Lua. This is probably because Lua is an extension of SOL, a language for describing data.

All the little conveniences like not having to put quotation marks around string keys and being able to assume an unassigned key is nil are really pleasing me, too.

#software #scripting #database

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Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Apr 09, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
Replying to @jdw@mathstodon.xyz
@jdw Both the subalgebra and congruence lattices of an algebra are algebraic lattices. The relevant order-theoretic notion here is that of a compact element, although this captures finite generation rather than generation by a single element.
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Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Apr 02, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
Replying to @instantiatethis@keyboards.social
@instantiatethis@keyboards.social Thanks! I can imagine this kind of stuff hits libraries hard too. They're too awesome not to be messed with, unfortunately.
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caten
Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Apr 02, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
Replying to @kate@aus.social
@kate@aus.social @Broadfork@mastodon.green Thanks! I'll be sure to post about it.
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Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Apr 02, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz

I am leaving the university system, possibly forever, at the end of this month. I will be living in the woods, studying mathematics and (hopefully) farming enough to survive. I have posted an essay explaining why I'm doing this on my website:

https://aten.cool/leaving_university_2026.html

#math #research #academia #USpol #mathematics #trans #transgender #farming #solarpunk #fascism #university

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caten
Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Mar 24, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz

After months of procrastination, I've finally eliminated the last two #YouTube links from my web page! All of my seminar talk videos have now been moved to #PeerTube and I can begin moving my math research livestream recordings over. Who knows, I may even have some new, PeerTube-exclusive content in the not-too-distant future.

#academia #DeGoogle #seminar #math #mathematics #research #livestream

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Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Feb 08, 2026
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz

I've added a page of software recommendations to my website: https://aten.cool/software.html

I often find that I post on Mastodon either asking for recommendations or recommending software myself. This can be helpful, but these conversations are ephemeral. I also sometimes want to post «I'm having fun using Geany!» or something similar, but that doesn't feel worthy of a post on its own.

#software #Geany #GeanyIDE #Mastodon #Linux #Android

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Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Nov 10, 2025
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
Replying to @FediTips@social.growyourown.services
@FediTips@social.growyourown.services I'm surprised Mastodon is still on GitHub and not some Forgejo instance.
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Charlotte Aten @caten@mathstodon.xyz · Nov 03, 2023
Charlotte Aten
@caten@mathstodon.xyz

I'm a mathematician, and I like combinatorics, universal algebra, and category theory. I also write software, and I know that spreading technical literacy is critical to building a better world.

mathstodon.xyz
Replying to @sc_griffith@mathstodon.xyz
@sc_griffith@mathstodon.xyz I think this kind of person is better thought of as an SF themed performance artist than any kind of researcher or authority. As long as they aren't given too much power they help keep people hyped about STEM and bring more young people into the area.
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