Concreteness Fading in Mathematics and Science Instruction: a Systematic Review - Educational Psychology Review A longstanding debate concerns the use of concrete versus abstract instructional materials, particularly in domains such as mathematics and science. Although decades of research have focused on the ad...

The concrete -> abstract approach is used in elementary math ed as well with success. Found the trig example ~ metric space connection intriguing. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

The Proof in the Code - Quanta Books The inside story of Lean, a computer program that answers the age-old question: How do you know if something is true?

“Kevin Hartnett is one of today’s finest chroniclers of math. With marvelous clarity and narrative flair, he introduces us to computer-verified proof, the drama behind it, and the people reimagining what math can be.” — @stevenstrogatz.com www.quantabooks.org/books/the-pr...

@stevenstrogatz.com I was showing my undergraduates your lovely 1988 Romeo & Juliet differential equations paper. Which is an excellent way of demonstrating novel and enjoyable applications of maths.
A possible popular update could changing it to the two protagonists of Heated Rivalry.

Had fun talking with @websedgescience.bsky.social at the #APSSummit26 on how physics & math can explain fashion cycles! @aps-dsnp.bsky.social @stevenstrogatz.com

Join us at Cornell on March 24 for a screening of this wonderful new documentary about a summer math camp for high school kids that has had an amazing impact on math in the United States. #ithaca

as.cornell.edu/news/hunting...

National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications The National Academies are accepting submissions to an annual award program that aims to recognize and develop excellence in science communication by research scientists, science journalists, and scie...

The 2026 Science Communication Awards are now open!

If you’re a science journalist, communicator, or researcher creating public-facing work communicating #STEM, I encourage you to apply.

Deadline: April 3, 2026

Apply: www.nationalacademies.org/awards/excel... #SciComm

Steven Strogatz explains how he teaches eigenvectors and eigenvalues. YouTube video by Edward Oneill

Ballerina! You can find the relevant excerpt from that podcast here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXk1...

@bcdreyer.social you might get a smile out of this one, as seen in the Wikipedia page for Jonathan Rosen: "He lives in Manhattan with his wife, a Conservative rabbi, and their daughters." Just hope they're all happy with this arrangement. Who am I to judge?

I've just started reading this new book by Shekhar Khare, a renowned number theorist at UCLA, and I highly recommend it. It takes the reader on an intellectual adventure, with very illuminating analogies and vivid storytelling. It's a book about some brilliant math, but it also has a great heart.

Nice to meet you, Jeremy!

My applied math colleague Chris Earls is looking to hire a postdoc. The area — interpretability of emergent behaviors exhibited by AI systems — is fascinating and important. Info below:

Preparing for our annual family ritual — a blind taste test. This year's category: hummus!

Am I Retiring? YouTube video by Veritasium

The Future of Veritasium @veritasium.bsky.social -- if you are a fan of the channel (as I certainly am!) you'll definitely want to watch this. It's Derek at his best. youtu.be/piHGnG4LsmQ?...

Absolutely nuts how everyone is firing on all cylinders in The Lowdown, if they don’t get renewed we riot

@rachelcrowl.net You are so fantastic in The Lowdown! The whole cast is amazing, and so is the series, but you really steal the show whenever you're onscreen :-)

The Geometry of Julia Child's Greatest Apple Tart The perfect recipe for the holidays made even better with math!

The Geometry of Julia Child's Greatest Apple Tart

The perfect recipe for the holidays -- made even better with math!

By Manil Suri

manilsuri.substack.com/p/julia-chil...

#MathSky

Reaching the Masses: Six Authors on Public Outreach
[about Mathematics]

A Zoom conversation with:

Keith Devlin
Marcus du Sautoy
Jordan Ellenberg
Sarah Hart
John Allen Paulos
Steven Strogatz

ams.org/journals/not...

PDF: ams.org/journals/not...

Very encouraging -- thanks, everybody! More soon...

Hi Jean! I certainly do remember you! So great to hear from you! -- maybe see you at the 50th reunion?

Will my Substack following grow exponentially? Or is that an unattainable goal?

Does the number of people following you grow linearly in time, or exponentially? Manil Suri examines this on Substack:

manilsuri.substack.com/p/will-my-su...

Very excited to share some life updates: in summer 2026 I will be starting as an Assistant Professor of Physics at University of Toronto! My group will study a range of problems in biophysics using nonequilibrium statistical mechanics—cellular signaling and adaptation, gene regulation, etc.

I haven't been very active here for several months, because I've been working on a new book. Soon I will be able to tell you about it. Is anyone out there interested?

Congratulations to all the tremendous science communicators honored this year!

bsky.app/profile/scic...

Teach Triangular Numbers With Steven Strogatz and The New York Times

Sorry, I meant CT scans! (not MRI)

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/l...

Teach Triangular Numbers With Steven Strogatz and The New York Times

Fourth lesson: triangular numbers, telescoping series, calculus, and MRI scans
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/l...

The social, decoupled self: interpersonal synchronization of breathing alters intrapersonal cardiorespiratory coupling People synchronize their periodic behavioural and physiological rhythms with each other during social interaction. While this interpersonal synchronization has largely been associated with positive ef...

🫁❤️New preprint out: The social, decoupled self

We show effects of interpersonal synchronization of physiological rhythms on intrapersonal cardiorespiratory coupling: when we sync our breathing, our breathing–heart rhythms decouple, with a perturbed phase-relationship
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Bookshop: Buy books online. Support local bookstores. An online bookstore that financially supports local independent bookstores and gives back to the book community.

Thanks. Good point.
bookshop.org/p/books/unlo...

Bookshop: Buy books online. Support local bookstores. An online bookstore that financially supports local independent bookstores and gives back to the book community.

Thanks. Good point.
bookshop.org/p/books/unlo...

Bookshop: Buy books online. Support local bookstores. An online bookstore that financially supports local independent bookstores and gives back to the book community.

good point, thanks.
bookshop.org/p/books/unlo...