Jekyll2019-07-31T16:59:17+00:00http://www.dorais.org/feed.xmlFrançois G. DoraisResearch in Logic and Foundations of MathematicsMoving to GitHub!2017-08-02T00:00:00+00:002017-08-02T00:00:00+00:00http://www.dorais.org/news/moving-to-github<p>After struggling to keep up my old WordPress site, I’ve decided to move my research website to <a href="https://pages.github.com/">GitHub Pages</a>. As you can see, I’ve already migrated and updated all of my old posts. I hope you enjoy the new design as much as I do!</p>
<p>There is still much work to be done. The main work to be done has to do with comments. Currently, there is no way to comment on posts here. Indeed, since this is a static site, dynamic features like comments are not available straight out of the box. An indirect consequence of this is that old comments haven’t been migrated from WordPress. I’m keeping the old WordPress site alive in its current state until comments have been migrated.</p>
<p>Another item to do is to integrate the new site into <a href="https://boolesrings.org">Boole’s Rings</a>. Currently, most of the Boole’s Rings sites are WordPress based. <a href="https://www.peterkrautzberger.org/0181/">Peter Krautzberger</a> moved to GitHub Pages a two years ago; it seems from my current experience that migrating is much easier now. I don’t know how well integration will work but the experiment itself is well within the <a href="http://boolesrings.org/about/">spirit of Boole’s Rings</a>.</p>
<p>These next steps will happen over the next weeks (… or months! … or years?)
In the mean time, there are a few small intermediate steps like setting up a <a href="https://help.github.com/articles/using-a-custom-domain-with-github-pages/">custom domain name</a>. Anyway, you can track my progress <a href="https://github.com/fgdorais/fgdorais.github.io">on GitHub</a>…</p>After struggling to keep up my old WordPress site, I’ve decided to move my research website to GitHub Pages. As you can see, I’ve already migrated and updated all of my old posts. I hope you enjoy the new design as much as I do!Even closer to the origin!2015-08-25T02:44:06+00:002015-08-25T02:44:06+00:00http://www.dorais.org/news/even-closer-to-the-origin<p>Roughly three years ago, I wrote <a href="/news/2012-06-30-back-to-the-origin.html">Back to the origin</a>, when I came back to Hanover, New Hampshire. I’ve now moved to Burlington, Vermont, which is roughly half way between Hanover and Montréal, Québec, which is my true origin. I’m very happy to start a new position at the <a href="http://uvm.edu">University of Vermont</a>!</p>Roughly three years ago, I wrote Back to the origin, when I came back to Hanover, New Hampshire. I’ve now moved to Burlington, Vermont, which is roughly half way between Hanover and Montréal, Québec, which is my true origin. I’m very happy to start a new position at the University of Vermont!HoTT Math Series2013-06-23T18:00:13+00:002013-06-23T18:00:13+00:00http://www.dorais.org/news/hott-math-series<p>I am planning to do a series of posts where I attempt to do math in Homotopy Type Theory (HoTT). The plan is to do some relatively simple proof-relevant mathematics at an informal level. The topics will all be undergraduate level so the mathematics won’t be hard to follow. I’m hoping to keep the series brief so each post will only be an appetizer and not a full course dinner. Enjoy!</p>
<p>This preamble will serve to accumulate a table of contents and various conventions and notations that come up along the way. The only prerequisites (or rather corequisites) are the first two chapters of the (free) <a href="http://homotopytypetheory.org/book/">Homotopy Type Theory book</a>. Further prerequisites and reverences to later topics in the book will always be indicated where they occur.</p>
<hr />
<ol>
<li><a href="/archives/1438">Elementary group theory</a></li>
<li><a href="/archives/1476">More on equational logic</a></li>
<li><a href="/archives/1488">Unit group of a ring</a></li>
<li><a href="/archives/1517">Local rings and fields</a></li>
</ol>I am planning to do a series of posts where I attempt to do math in Homotopy Type Theory (HoTT). The plan is to do some relatively simple proof-relevant mathematics at an informal level. The topics will all be undergraduate level so the mathematics won’t be hard to follow. I’m hoping to keep the series brief so each post will only be an appetizer and not a full course dinner. Enjoy!Selected Papers Network2013-06-17T13:59:43+00:002013-06-17T13:59:43+00:00http://www.dorais.org/news/selected-papers-network<p>I just made my <a href="https://plus.google.com/110930549217362212976/posts/UfFUcHpHQEi">first contribution</a> to the <a href="https://selectedpapers.net/">Selected Papers Network</a>. It was fun and easy and I strongly recommend you use it too!</p>
<p>It’s too early for serious commentary on the experience but there are a few things I noted right away:</p>
<ul>
<li>The front page <a href="https://selectedpapers.net/">selectedpapers.net</a> does not yet support <a href="">MathJax</a>. (Neither does Google+ but that’s another problem.) Hopefully that will be fixed soon. Meanwhile, you can use the <a href="http://checkmyworking.com/misc/mathjax-bookmarklet/">MathJax bookmarklet</a>.</li>
<li>The <a href="http://docs.selectedpapers.net/hashtags.html">hashtag syntax</a> is fairly simple and intuitive but there is room for improvement. The main improvement would be to relax the ID rules to allow full urls which are easier to cut and paste. For example, <code class="highlighter-rouge">http://arxiv.org/abs/1234.6789</code> for <code class="highlighter-rouge">arXiv:1234.6789</code>, <code class="highlighter-rouge">http://dx.doi.org/10.1234/0987654321</code> for <code class="highlighter-rouge">doi:10.1234/0987654321</code>.</li>
<li>Comments do not seem to generate <a href="http://arxiv.org/help/trackback/">arXiv trackbacks</a>. (Or they have not yet made it through the arXiv editorial process.)</li>
<li>I wish <a href="http://docs.selectedpapers.net/hashtags.html">topic (hash)tags</a> were allowed to have natural syntax. I can’t think of a good reason why this has to follow the Twitter standard. Should it be <code class="highlighter-rouge">#cstarAlgebras</code> or <code class="highlighter-rouge">#CstarAlgebras</code> or <code class="highlighter-rouge">#CStarAlgebras</code>… why not <code class="highlighter-rouge">C*-algebras</code>? It’s better to allow natural syntax and implement a tag synonym system.
You can track these and other issues here.</li>
</ul>I just made my first contribution to the Selected Papers Network. It was fun and easy and I strongly recommend you use it too!SMBC on madness…2012-07-17T21:59:38+00:002012-07-17T21:59:38+00:00http://www.dorais.org/news/smbc-on-madness<p>It’s very easy to imagine a mad scientist: combine a bad hair day with a lab coat, surround with vats, oscillators, and other instruments, throw the mix into a cave and voilà!</p>
<p>It’s much harder to imagine a mad mathematician: bad hair and … what? Fortunately, <a href="http://www.smbc-comics.com">SMBC</a> has figured it out!</p>
<p><img src="http://www.smbc-comics.com/comics/20120717.gif" alt="Mad Mathematician!" /></p>It’s very easy to imagine a mad scientist: combine a bad hair day with a lab coat, surround with vats, oscillators, and other instruments, throw the mix into a cave and voilà!Back to the origin…2012-06-30T16:38:17+00:002012-06-30T16:38:17+00:00http://www.dorais.org/news/back-to-the-origin<p>I am now settling into my new place in Hanover, New Hampshire. I am starting my new position as a <a href="http://www.ams.org/journals/bull/1932-38-09/S0002-9904-1932-05469-6/home.html">John Wesley Young</a> Research Instructor at <a href="http://www.math.dartmouth.edu/">Dartmouth College</a> on July 1. It’s great to be back where it all started!</p>I am now settling into my new place in Hanover, New Hampshire. I am starting my new position as a John Wesley Young Research Instructor at Dartmouth College on July 1. It’s great to be back where it all started!Bumper sticker2012-03-24T16:38:43+00:002012-03-24T16:38:43+00:00http://www.dorais.org/news/bumper-sticker<p>An amazing idea for a bumper sticker from <a href="http://xkcd.com">xkcd</a>:</p>
<p><img src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/formal_logic.png" alt="Formal Logic Bumper Sticker" /></p>
<p>Of course, this has many implications for people driving behind you…</p>An amazing idea for a bumper sticker from xkcd:Possibly true. Necessarily funny.2012-03-18T13:38:42+00:002012-03-18T13:38:42+00:00http://www.dorais.org/news/possibly-true-necessarily-funny<p>This is the tagline for <a href="http://fauxphilnews.wordpress.com/">fauxphilnews</a>, a hilarious philosophy blog created by Ben Bronner. My favorite entry so far is <a href="http://fauxphilnews.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/kripke-resigns-after-allegations-of-academic-fraud/">Saul Kripke’s resignation after faking results of thought experiments</a>. Check it out…</p>This is the tagline for fauxphilnews, a hilarious philosophy blog created by Ben Bronner. My favorite entry so far is Saul Kripke’s resignation after faking results of thought experiments. Check it out…Convergence of ideas2012-03-11T02:37:30+00:002012-03-11T02:37:30+00:00http://www.dorais.org/news/convergence-of-ideas<p>As a moderator on MathOverflow, I see a lot of interesting interactions between mathematicians. The occasional dramatic situations get discussed profusely by community but very few take the time talk about the pleasant exchanges they have had. Here is one that caught my attention today because it illustrates how it is not uncommon for two mathematicians from distant parts of the world can stumble upon the exact same set of ideas…</p>
<p>Today, <a href="http://mathoverflow.net/users/20598/sean-eberhard">Sean Eberhard</a> asked two interesting questions: <a href="http://mathoverflow.net/questions/90826/intersecting-group-orbits">Intersecting group orbits</a> and <a href="http://mathoverflow.net/questions/90836/intersecting-group-orbits-version-2">Intersecting group orbits, version 2</a>. The first question was answered almost immediately by <a href="http://mathoverflow.net/users/6794/andreas-blass">Andreas Blass</a> with a carefully crafted argument. This is not unusual, Andreas is well-known for answering questions quickly and precisely, both on and off MathOverflow. However, Andreas’s comment after answering explains why he answered so fast:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This, along with the projective plane example, was actually going to be in a paper I’m writing. Fortunately, the main topic of the paper is something else, so the paper won’t lose much by omitting this.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>After getting an answer from Andreas, Sean posted his second question. Andreas answered again, with another comment:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This is another piece of the planned paper that I mentioned in connection with Sean’s previous question. Maybe the whole paper will gradually appear on MO this way. It’s one way to get it written without my usual delays.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It appears that Sean and Andreas have been having a lot of common questions and ideas, even if they don’t appear to know each other and live on different continents. Let me conclude this anecdote by seconding one of Sean’s comments:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I look forward to reading this paper. :)</p>
</blockquote>As a moderator on MathOverflow, I see a lot of interesting interactions between mathematicians. The occasional dramatic situations get discussed profusely by community but very few take the time talk about the pleasant exchanges they have had. Here is one that caught my attention today because it illustrates how it is not uncommon for two mathematicians from distant parts of the world can stumble upon the exact same set of ideas…Disqus2012-03-01T14:26:02+00:002012-03-01T14:26:02+00:00http://www.dorais.org/news/disqus<p>I have just enabled <a href="http://disqus.com/about/">Disqus</a> commenting system. It has lots of nice features, but there are a few bugs we need to fix — that’s part of the <a href="http://boolesrings.org/">Boole’s Rings</a> way…</p>
<p><del>The most obvious issue is that <a href="http://www.mathjax.org/">MathJax</a> currently doesn’t work in comments. I’m hoping that will get fixed very soon, so keep on using <script type="math/tex">\LaTeX</script> in comments even if it’s not pretty for the moment.</del></p>
<p>There are a few other minor issues. Let me know if you encounter an issue, that will help us tune this new plugin.</p>I have just enabled Disqus commenting system. It has lots of nice features, but there are a few bugs we need to fix — that’s part of the Boole’s Rings way…