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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: August 22nd, 2023

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  • Infinity is effectively just bullshit.

    I’m fond of pointing out to my students that there’s a very practical reason to care about “infinity” in math:

    While nothing ever reaches “infinity”, things absolutely do reach a point where they violently fly to pieces and catch on fire.

    So I teach my students to substitute the phrase “explodes and catches on fire” where they see an equation that “approaches infinity”.

    I find it helps them pay attention to a subject that is otherwise bullshit. Infinity itself is bullshit, but it has a place in math: telling us when to quickly duck behind a good solid oak table.





  • I have to constantly remind myself to treat me like I treat others.

    I do, as well.

    I treat others. I despise myself and have great empathy for others

    I said that to myself before, as well.

    But I discovered my empathy for others became surprisingly more effective after I started an intentional practice of self-empathy.

    but that’s certainly not universal

    Certainly. This is what worked for me, and my relationships.


  • The golden rule does not work. What if I like to be treated like shit?

    Agreed. But it is a good default place to we start.

    The real skill is empathy - to understand how the other person wants to be treated.

    My empathy for others became much more effective after I started practicing empathy for myself.

    It was a bit eye opening, to me, to realize how much impact a practice of self-empathy made in my relationships.