Toby Meadows
@tobymeadows.bsky.social
logician: I do math that mathematicians think is philosophy; and philosophy that philosophers think is math
logic, philosophy of math, set theory
lps uci
https://sites.google.com/site/tobymeadows
logic, philosophy of math, set theory
lps uci
https://sites.google.com/site/tobymeadows
Pinned
Toby Meadows
@tobymeadows.bsky.social
· Jan 6
A good philosopher of mathematics needs an eye for where the mathematics stops and the philosophy begins.
For many a good mathematician such an intuition is a hindrance.
For many a good mathematician such an intuition is a hindrance.
I don't think it's a refusal to engage so much as a complete mismatch in expectations about what philosophy is supposed to do.
He thinks of acquiring more true propositions as the goal. So given her claim is trivially true there is nothing more she can do that is of philosophical interest.
He thinks of acquiring more true propositions as the goal. So given her claim is trivially true there is nothing more she can do that is of philosophical interest.
November 15, 2025 at 1:53 PM
I don't think it's a refusal to engage so much as a complete mismatch in expectations about what philosophy is supposed to do.
He thinks of acquiring more true propositions as the goal. So given her claim is trivially true there is nothing more she can do that is of philosophical interest.
He thinks of acquiring more true propositions as the goal. So given her claim is trivially true there is nothing more she can do that is of philosophical interest.
Reposted by Toby Meadows
"Can The Classical Ladder Be Kicked Away? The View from One Rung Up" by @rohanfrench.bsky.social
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Can The Classical Ladder Be Kicked Away? The View from One Rung Up - Journal of Philosophical Logic
Nonclassical logicians often justify their use of classical logic in their metatheoretic reasoning as, to put things in Bob Meyer’s evocative phrasing, “preaching in Classicalese to the Classicalists”...
link.springer.com
November 15, 2025 at 1:33 PM
"Can The Classical Ladder Be Kicked Away? The View from One Rung Up" by @rohanfrench.bsky.social
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Tbf Michael Dummett did a lot of intuitionistic logic while also doing more than continental philosophers to improve the lives of refugees by simply doing something rather than nothing.
November 14, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Tbf Michael Dummett did a lot of intuitionistic logic while also doing more than continental philosophers to improve the lives of refugees by simply doing something rather than nothing.
I think I'd find it easier to switch to Dvorak than switch pinkies for latex.
November 5, 2025 at 11:21 PM
I think I'd find it easier to switch to Dvorak than switch pinkies for latex.
I got used to the UK layout when I lived there ... \ at the bottom left ... and now I have to order keyboards from the UK or I go insane.
November 5, 2025 at 11:20 PM
I got used to the UK layout when I lived there ... \ at the bottom left ... and now I have to order keyboards from the UK or I go insane.
Toby Meadows
Found in Translation: at the limits of the Hudetz program
https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.02011
Found in Translation: at the limits of the Hudetz program
https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.02011
November 5, 2025 at 12:36 PM
@tobymeadows.bsky.social gave the coolest talk today in our Logic seminar. I feel like everything that has ever kept me up at night about theoretical equivalence has been resolved.
November 5, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Any theorem expressible in the language in analysis will be true in an elementary extension of the standard model.
Nonstandard analysis is not my jam, but this is just a logic thing.
Nonstandard analysis is not my jam, but this is just a logic thing.
September 25, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Any theorem expressible in the language in analysis will be true in an elementary extension of the standard model.
Nonstandard analysis is not my jam, but this is just a logic thing.
Nonstandard analysis is not my jam, but this is just a logic thing.
It will be if that extension is an elementary extension, which is the usual thing.
September 25, 2025 at 12:59 PM
It will be if that extension is an elementary extension, which is the usual thing.
Can't remember.
Off the cuff I'd think of Boolos's example, "Some critics only admire each other."
This purportedly requires plural quantification for a natural analysis.
Perhaps this has no obvious translation into Japanese?
You know more linguistics than me so I won't keep embarrassing myself.
Off the cuff I'd think of Boolos's example, "Some critics only admire each other."
This purportedly requires plural quantification for a natural analysis.
Perhaps this has no obvious translation into Japanese?
You know more linguistics than me so I won't keep embarrassing myself.
September 24, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Can't remember.
Off the cuff I'd think of Boolos's example, "Some critics only admire each other."
This purportedly requires plural quantification for a natural analysis.
Perhaps this has no obvious translation into Japanese?
You know more linguistics than me so I won't keep embarrassing myself.
Off the cuff I'd think of Boolos's example, "Some critics only admire each other."
This purportedly requires plural quantification for a natural analysis.
Perhaps this has no obvious translation into Japanese?
You know more linguistics than me so I won't keep embarrassing myself.
My faves in this zone are akaik (which isn't much):
- the definite article (not in Polish, sorry Russell); and
- plural quantification (not in Japanese).
Grateful to those people who explained this to me.
- the definite article (not in Polish, sorry Russell); and
- plural quantification (not in Japanese).
Grateful to those people who explained this to me.
September 24, 2025 at 3:53 PM
My faves in this zone are akaik (which isn't much):
- the definite article (not in Polish, sorry Russell); and
- plural quantification (not in Japanese).
Grateful to those people who explained this to me.
- the definite article (not in Polish, sorry Russell); and
- plural quantification (not in Japanese).
Grateful to those people who explained this to me.
I remain in awe of people who come to academia and can work in English when it isn't their first language. It's mind blowing.
September 24, 2025 at 3:28 PM
I remain in awe of people who come to academia and can work in English when it isn't their first language. It's mind blowing.
I suppose the thing I'm wondering is if they ever were able to explain their research in their native language.
Philosophy is full of useful jargon we use to make fine distinctions etc. I think we keep acquiring more of this language as we go.
Why expect that to translate back?
Philosophy is full of useful jargon we use to make fine distinctions etc. I think we keep acquiring more of this language as we go.
Why expect that to translate back?
September 24, 2025 at 3:27 PM
I suppose the thing I'm wondering is if they ever were able to explain their research in their native language.
Philosophy is full of useful jargon we use to make fine distinctions etc. I think we keep acquiring more of this language as we go.
Why expect that to translate back?
Philosophy is full of useful jargon we use to make fine distinctions etc. I think we keep acquiring more of this language as we go.
Why expect that to translate back?
This will also happen with bike repair.
Meh ...
Meh ...
September 24, 2025 at 3:24 PM
This will also happen with bike repair.
Meh ...
Meh ...
Must do better!
An amusing part of this unamusing situation is that the proposed example is about currency.
As such, it makes no use whatsoever of whatever spooky "natural properties" are possessed by gold.
You might as well use fools' gold. Or paper. It doesn't really matter.
Just like metaphysics.
As such, it makes no use whatsoever of whatever spooky "natural properties" are possessed by gold.
You might as well use fools' gold. Or paper. It doesn't really matter.
Just like metaphysics.
September 23, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Must do better!
An amusing part of this unamusing situation is that the proposed example is about currency.
As such, it makes no use whatsoever of whatever spooky "natural properties" are possessed by gold.
You might as well use fools' gold. Or paper. It doesn't really matter.
Just like metaphysics.
As such, it makes no use whatsoever of whatever spooky "natural properties" are possessed by gold.
You might as well use fools' gold. Or paper. It doesn't really matter.
Just like metaphysics.
September 23, 2025 at 11:41 PM
An amusing part of this unamusing situation is that the proposed example is about currency.
As such, it makes no use whatsoever of whatever spooky "natural properties" are possessed by gold.
You might as well use fools' gold. Or paper. It doesn't really matter.
Just like metaphysics.
As such, it makes no use whatsoever of whatever spooky "natural properties" are possessed by gold.
You might as well use fools' gold. Or paper. It doesn't really matter.
Just like metaphysics.
Baire space is a Baire space.
But not every Baire space is Baire space.
... not sure this is a good thing ...
But not every Baire space is Baire space.
... not sure this is a good thing ...
September 20, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Baire space is a Baire space.
But not every Baire space is Baire space.
... not sure this is a good thing ...
But not every Baire space is Baire space.
... not sure this is a good thing ...
I think this is quite interesting.
Still not really sure what to make of the imo surprising results.
Huge thanks to Gabe Goldberg and Pen Maddy for quite different forms of generous assistance.
Still not really sure what to make of the imo surprising results.
Huge thanks to Gabe Goldberg and Pen Maddy for quite different forms of generous assistance.
Toby Meadows: Internal Categoricity and the Generic Multiverse https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.21202 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2508.21202 https://arxiv.org/html/2508.21202
September 1, 2025 at 12:54 PM
I think this is quite interesting.
Still not really sure what to make of the imo surprising results.
Huge thanks to Gabe Goldberg and Pen Maddy for quite different forms of generous assistance.
Still not really sure what to make of the imo surprising results.
Huge thanks to Gabe Goldberg and Pen Maddy for quite different forms of generous assistance.
Reposted by Toby Meadows
Jason Chen, Toby Meadows: Teasing apart definitional equivalence https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.03956 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2508.03956 https://arxiv.org/html/2508.03956
August 7, 2025 at 6:39 AM
Jason Chen, Toby Meadows: Teasing apart definitional equivalence https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.03956 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2508.03956 https://arxiv.org/html/2508.03956
Perhaps.
I still think I'm making a very reasonable request.
I still think I'm making a very reasonable request.
April 25, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Perhaps.
I still think I'm making a very reasonable request.
I still think I'm making a very reasonable request.
Can someone recommend an intro to HoTT or MLTT that uses context based proof theory that is very precise (like a proof theorist) in its handling of the basic syntactic items and how they are assembled?
The HoTT book is not great on this. Rijke is much better but is a little too swift imo on this.
The HoTT book is not great on this. Rijke is much better but is a little too swift imo on this.
April 24, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Can someone recommend an intro to HoTT or MLTT that uses context based proof theory that is very precise (like a proof theorist) in its handling of the basic syntactic items and how they are assembled?
The HoTT book is not great on this. Rijke is much better but is a little too swift imo on this.
The HoTT book is not great on this. Rijke is much better but is a little too swift imo on this.
What happens at boarding school is supposed to stay at boarding school
March 25, 2025 at 11:46 AM
What happens at boarding school is supposed to stay at boarding school
It's helpful since then you know not to read the rest of the paper unless it's written by a French person or someone who's been dead for a millenia or two.
March 25, 2025 at 3:57 AM
It's helpful since then you know not to read the rest of the paper unless it's written by a French person or someone who's been dead for a millenia or two.