was @/virtualcourtney on twitter. math prof, pragmatic idealist, parent
I write a (U.S.) political commentary newsletter focusing on issues that affect the math community (from research funding to foreign policy) at buttondown.com/crgibbons
Dr. Courtney Gibbons, FIFA laureate (she/her)
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A "no phone challenge" outside my office. Like class, but I specifically ask about it when students come in for office hours.
Similarly, a "meet someone new" challenge for the math space.
Some kind of punch card incentive?
"Analog" events and activities in the math common space to encourage student foot traffic and help students meet each other.
This is why the refusal to allow a Somalian citizen in the country to referee a soccer match is so disturbing: it is an attempt to demonize Somalis, and to try to otherize them before the election. What a ghastly set of ghouls that populate the Trump Administration: those lovely white indentarians.
A "pro-social mathematics" syllabus section with a "choose your antisocial adventure" game that gives them a fun way to figure out the boundaries (working with other people = pro-social; copying someone's answer = antisocial; using a chatbot for homework help = antisocial and parasocial).
Couldn't stop myself from commenting (politely but critically) on an "AI could do anybody's dissertation in 30 min" post on linkedin, only for the author to reply and immediately like his own comment.
Sorry, but AI has "done" what, 2 math problems? Matrix multiplication and Erdos distance?
🙄💅🏻
I'm thinking of a "no phone challenge" conversation prompt or trivia question on the board before class. Eg: "Your professor's musical literacy ends in 2011. What's on the catch-up playlist?"
And trivia questions from the 1990s (my high school era) to compare with their high school era.
I think states need to treat trillionaires as a national security threat.
🧪⚛️ For scale, this is roughly 25 years of NSF funding, or 5 years of NIH funding. This, from people who claim that we can’t afford to support research, or public health.
Thinking about Antanas Mockus and Bogata: hire a mime to wander around math classes and the math common spaces to act out praise for pro-social, positive learning behavior and act out shame for anti-social, bad for learning behavior.
