@j_bertolotti@mathstodon.xyz
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j_bertolotti

@j_bertolotti@mathstodon.xyz

Associated Professor of Physics at the University of Exeter.
Scientific visualizations (grouped under the hastag #PhysicsFactlet).
He/lui/on. All opinions are my own fault.

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j_bertolotti, to random
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The human eyes have "only" 3 different colour receptors, so multiple spectra can be perceived as the same colour.
(And this without considering all the ways the signal is processed before you actually "see" it.)

On the left, the absorption spectra of the 3 human colour receptors, with a varying spectrum (shown as a black line) on top. On the right a disk coloured with the RGB equivalent of that spectrum.

j_bertolotti, to DnD
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What is destiny? Destiny is a DM that spent a lot of time preparing for the session and is not going to have any of your shenanigans.

j_bertolotti, to random
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Reductionism is easy!
/s

https://xkcd.com/2933/

j_bertolotti, to random
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What do Hollow-Earth believers think about Flat-Earth believers? And vice-versa? 🤔
#PonderingTheImportantQuestions

j_bertolotti, to random
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People studying brains: "We found no correlation between number of neurons and IQ."*

People talking about AI: "If we just add more nodes to our deep neural network we are surely going to create a super-mind!"

j_bertolotti, to random
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Out-of-context 6 y/o: "We are going to ignore the facts."

j_bertolotti, to random
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Every time I see a "xyz explained without Math" kindnof post, I always wish more people wrote explainers WITH the Math, without skipping 90% of it, so that the explanation is actually understandable without having to rely on leaps of faith.

j_bertolotti, to random
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Dear wannabe barista: there is a difference between "warm milk" and "scalding milk". The difference is especially important when you are preparing it for a kid.

j_bertolotti, to godot
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Keeping in mind I don't really have the time or mental space to truly learn it, and I definitively don't have the skills necessary to actually make a game: any advice for a beginner tutorial?

j_bertolotti, (edited ) to random
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Linear algebra is easy.
Just remember that real numbers are vectors, polynomials are vectors, integrable functions are vectors, matrices are vectors, tensors are vectors, and so on.
As I said, easy.

j_bertolotti, to random
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This one is way above my level, but I'd love to hear the opinion of @johncarlosbaez 🙂
https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.00071

j_bertolotti, to random
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Dear hive mind: is there a simple to use, and decently stable macroblogging platform on the Fediverse that one can use without having to self-host?
Thank you

p.s.
Main big requirement is the possibility to categorize the posts so that they are easy to find even after some time has passed.
Second big requirement is that it can't be a beta or a personal project that is likely to be abandoned in an year.

j_bertolotti, to random
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"Non-commutative Math is the least weird idea in history!"
(by @ZachWeinersmith )
https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/commute-2

j_bertolotti, to random
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Business idea: A course teaching University Professors how to start their presentation from their own computer (with an advanced course on how to share your screen when online).

Not sure anyone would be willing to pay for it, but there is clearly a need for such a course.

j_bertolotti, to random
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: The "Ashcroft/Mermin Project"
I will try to (likely very slowly) go through the classic textbook "Solid State Physics" by Ashcroft and Mermin and make one or more animation/visualization per chapter.
This will (hopefully) help people digest the topic and/or be useful to lecturers who are teaching about it. As with all my animations, feel free to use them.
The idea is that the animations are a companion to the book, so I will give only very brief explanations here.

j_bertolotti, to random
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Reason number 10²³ why I don't use M$ Windows: "Windows 11 now comes with its own adware"
https://www.engadget.com/windows-11-now-comes-with-its-own-adware-124531977.html

j_bertolotti, to random
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Not a #PhysicsFactlet, but a full beginner-friendly tutorial on how to use speckle correlations for imaging through a scattering medium, complete with a step-by-step guide on how to set up your first experiment and analyse the data:
https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.14088

j_bertolotti, to random
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On one hand Mathematical notation is arbitrary, and if you properly define what you mean by a term/symbol, you can choose whatever you want.
On the other hand any time you use terminology or notation with a meaning different from the usually accepted one, you are putting a lot of unnecessary cognitive burden on the reader.
And it is the reader's right to just decide the effort of understanding you is just not worth it.

j_bertolotti, to random
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Targeted advertisement: I will steal all of your data to make a profile of you so accurate we will know you better than yourself. And then we will manipulate you into giving us all of your money 😈

Also targeted advertisement: I see you just bought a washing machine. Here is the adverto for another washing machine, just in case you want a second one 🤪

j_bertolotti, (edited ) to random
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Through the years I made a LOT of scientific visualizations (#PhysicsFactlet), and lately I ran out of steam.
To get some motivation back I decided to go through a standard undergrad Physics textbook and try to create as many visualizations as I can for it.
Should I go for:

j_bertolotti, to random
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Context: "The Incredible Machine" was one of the greatest games ever made.
(This is a statement of facts and not subject to discussion.)

Now #XKCD has made something almost as fun that runs in a tab of your browser: https://xkcd.com/2916

j_bertolotti, (edited ) to random
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Advice for anyone designing airports: if you don't want me to bring liquids on the plane (which btw is a silly rule) you also provide a place where to empty my bottles before the controls.
Or you get water in your bins. Your choice.

j_bertolotti, to physics
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Thinking more and more seriously that I should create a "Tutorials in Physics" journal that doesn't publish new research, but tutorials on advanced but relatively settled topics, aimed at first year PhD students who need an introduction to the topic.
#Physics #AcademicChatter

j_bertolotti, to random
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Just for fun.

White blobs on a white background, merging and separating at random.

j_bertolotti, to random
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Anyone has a "for dummy" summary of the whole xz story?

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