Autumn Phaneuf, MSE, Ph.D (h.c)
@1autumnleaf.bsky.social
👩🏻💻Engineering Professor
🚀Web3, DeSci, AI, Art, & MTG Enthusiast
🎙Host Breaking Math Podcast
📊 CEO of Breaking Math Media
🔬breakingmath.io
💬 [email protected]
🚀Web3, DeSci, AI, Art, & MTG Enthusiast
🎙Host Breaking Math Podcast
📊 CEO of Breaking Math Media
🔬breakingmath.io
💬 [email protected]
The Curiosity Box is created by Vsauce, YouTube’s biggest science network:
Quarterly: $75
Annual: $280
Ships to the U.S., Canada, U.K., and much of Europe. Get 25% off your first box with breakmath25
Subscribe here 👉 curiositybox.com/BreakingMath
Quarterly: $75
Annual: $280
Ships to the U.S., Canada, U.K., and much of Europe. Get 25% off your first box with breakmath25
Subscribe here 👉 curiositybox.com/BreakingMath
The Curiosity Box – The Subscription for Thinkers
Vsauce delivers viral science toys, brain-busting puzzles, and other cerebral wonders to your door each season.
curiositybox.com
October 31, 2025 at 5:42 AM
The Curiosity Box is created by Vsauce, YouTube’s biggest science network:
Quarterly: $75
Annual: $280
Ships to the U.S., Canada, U.K., and much of Europe. Get 25% off your first box with breakmath25
Subscribe here 👉 curiositybox.com/BreakingMath
Quarterly: $75
Annual: $280
Ships to the U.S., Canada, U.K., and much of Europe. Get 25% off your first box with breakmath25
Subscribe here 👉 curiositybox.com/BreakingMath
And the centerpiece: Animal Architecture.
A stunning book that shows how animals design — from beaver dams to coral cities — captured in breathtaking images.
A stunning book that shows how animals design — from beaver dams to coral cities — captured in breathtaking images.
October 31, 2025 at 5:42 AM
And the centerpiece: Animal Architecture.
A stunning book that shows how animals design — from beaver dams to coral cities — captured in breathtaking images.
A stunning book that shows how animals design — from beaver dams to coral cities — captured in breathtaking images.
Then, Inq’s Practical Slap Bracelets.
One measures rulers. Another measures cylinders. The last? Proof you’re a time traveler. Wearable science with a 90s twist.
One measures rulers. Another measures cylinders. The last? Proof you’re a time traveler. Wearable science with a 90s twist.
October 31, 2025 at 5:42 AM
Then, Inq’s Practical Slap Bracelets.
One measures rulers. Another measures cylinders. The last? Proof you’re a time traveler. Wearable science with a 90s twist.
One measures rulers. Another measures cylinders. The last? Proof you’re a time traveler. Wearable science with a 90s twist.
Next: Mr. Wiggle’s Giggle-Jiggle Siphons.
They look like silly straws… but reveal the hidden physics of fluid dynamics. Jiggle, giggle, and watch science flow.
They look like silly straws… but reveal the hidden physics of fluid dynamics. Jiggle, giggle, and watch science flow.
October 31, 2025 at 5:42 AM
Next: Mr. Wiggle’s Giggle-Jiggle Siphons.
They look like silly straws… but reveal the hidden physics of fluid dynamics. Jiggle, giggle, and watch science flow.
They look like silly straws… but reveal the hidden physics of fluid dynamics. Jiggle, giggle, and watch science flow.
First up: the 4-Dimensional Tape Measure.
Part ruler, part pendulum, it measures both space and time.
Yes — the first tape measure in history that keeps time.
Part ruler, part pendulum, it measures both space and time.
Yes — the first tape measure in history that keeps time.
October 31, 2025 at 5:42 AM
First up: the 4-Dimensional Tape Measure.
Part ruler, part pendulum, it measures both space and time.
Yes — the first tape measure in history that keeps time.
Part ruler, part pendulum, it measures both space and time.
Yes — the first tape measure in history that keeps time.
Courage isn’t the absence of fear.
It’s doing it anyway, with respect and steadiness.
That’s how relationships (and leadership) grow.
It’s doing it anyway, with respect and steadiness.
That’s how relationships (and leadership) grow.
October 29, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Courage isn’t the absence of fear.
It’s doing it anyway, with respect and steadiness.
That’s how relationships (and leadership) grow.
It’s doing it anyway, with respect and steadiness.
That’s how relationships (and leadership) grow.
When you approach them with calm intent—
Not to win, not to punish,
But to understand and move forward—
You stop fighting each other and start solving the problem together.
Not to win, not to punish,
But to understand and move forward—
You stop fighting each other and start solving the problem together.
October 29, 2025 at 11:59 AM
When you approach them with calm intent—
Not to win, not to punish,
But to understand and move forward—
You stop fighting each other and start solving the problem together.
Not to win, not to punish,
But to understand and move forward—
You stop fighting each other and start solving the problem together.
The truth?
Tough conversations don’t get easier by avoiding them.
They get easier through practice, clarity, and compassion.
Tough conversations don’t get easier by avoiding them.
They get easier through practice, clarity, and compassion.
October 29, 2025 at 11:59 AM
The truth?
Tough conversations don’t get easier by avoiding them.
They get easier through practice, clarity, and compassion.
Tough conversations don’t get easier by avoiding them.
They get easier through practice, clarity, and compassion.
And if you’ve had bad experiences before, your body remembers.
Someone who exploded or withdrew last time makes your nervous system brace for the same pattern, even years later.
Someone who exploded or withdrew last time makes your nervous system brace for the same pattern, even years later.
October 29, 2025 at 11:59 AM
And if you’ve had bad experiences before, your body remembers.
Someone who exploded or withdrew last time makes your nervous system brace for the same pattern, even years later.
Someone who exploded or withdrew last time makes your nervous system brace for the same pattern, even years later.
Then comes the balancing act: honesty vs. empathy.
You want to be kind but also real. Most people overcorrect toward one—either too blunt or too cautious—and the message gets lost.
You want to be kind but also real. Most people overcorrect toward one—either too blunt or too cautious—and the message gets lost.
October 29, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Then comes the balancing act: honesty vs. empathy.
You want to be kind but also real. Most people overcorrect toward one—either too blunt or too cautious—and the message gets lost.
You want to be kind but also real. Most people overcorrect toward one—either too blunt or too cautious—and the message gets lost.
There’s also an identity threat.
When people feel criticized, they don’t just hear “you messed up.”
They hear “you’re not good.”
That’s why feedback and boundaries are so sensitive—they hit close to who we believe we are.
When people feel criticized, they don’t just hear “you messed up.”
They hear “you’re not good.”
That’s why feedback and boundaries are so sensitive—they hit close to who we believe we are.
October 29, 2025 at 11:59 AM
There’s also an identity threat.
When people feel criticized, they don’t just hear “you messed up.”
They hear “you’re not good.”
That’s why feedback and boundaries are so sensitive—they hit close to who we believe we are.
When people feel criticized, they don’t just hear “you messed up.”
They hear “you’re not good.”
That’s why feedback and boundaries are so sensitive—they hit close to who we believe we are.
Tough conversations often stir emotion.
You might be angry, hurt, or anxious. They might be defensive, ashamed, or surprised. You’re managing two emotional systems at once—yours and theirs.
You might be angry, hurt, or anxious. They might be defensive, ashamed, or surprised. You’re managing two emotional systems at once—yours and theirs.
October 29, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Tough conversations often stir emotion.
You might be angry, hurt, or anxious. They might be defensive, ashamed, or surprised. You’re managing two emotional systems at once—yours and theirs.
You might be angry, hurt, or anxious. They might be defensive, ashamed, or surprised. You’re managing two emotional systems at once—yours and theirs.
What makes it worse? The outcome is uncertain.
You can’t predict how the other person will react. That ambiguity fuels anxiety—your brain craves control, and this situation offers none.
You can’t predict how the other person will react. That ambiguity fuels anxiety—your brain craves control, and this situation offers none.
October 29, 2025 at 11:59 AM
What makes it worse? The outcome is uncertain.
You can’t predict how the other person will react. That ambiguity fuels anxiety—your brain craves control, and this situation offers none.
You can’t predict how the other person will react. That ambiguity fuels anxiety—your brain craves control, and this situation offers none.
Your brain is wired to avoid conflict.
To the nervous system, confrontation = danger. Even if you know it’s a work conversation, your body still reads it like a saber-tooth tiger moment.
To the nervous system, confrontation = danger. Even if you know it’s a work conversation, your body still reads it like a saber-tooth tiger moment.
October 29, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Your brain is wired to avoid conflict.
To the nervous system, confrontation = danger. Even if you know it’s a work conversation, your body still reads it like a saber-tooth tiger moment.
To the nervous system, confrontation = danger. Even if you know it’s a work conversation, your body still reads it like a saber-tooth tiger moment.
Let’s keep it going—how do you bring storytelling into mathematics, or mathematics into storytelling? I’d love to hear your thoughts. #WritingMath #Math #ScienceCommunication
October 26, 2025 at 9:01 AM
Let’s keep it going—how do you bring storytelling into mathematics, or mathematics into storytelling? I’d love to hear your thoughts. #WritingMath #Math #ScienceCommunication