_jcrossley

Two YouTube math channels. I have a degree from 2012 before switching to software; now I’m on a path to becoming a schoolteacher as a 2nd career. Using YouTube as a way to deliberately practice teaching & refreshing skill.

“Math Can Be A Hobby”, lecture series based on Serge Lang’s Basic Mathematics. Unexpected breakout success, 350k+ views on 1st video and rising. https://youtube.com/@MathCanBeAHobby

“jcpractices math”, a livestream where I share my daily-ish study sessions, thinking out loud with iPad on screen. Emphasis on algebra and number theory. https://youtube.com/@jcpracticesmath

Not sure when this was written, but I believe I found it ~3 weeks ago (pre-FLT and NS announcements)

Not mine - stumbled across this short story about a week ago. Not sure when it was written, but it was before Anthropic’s FLT announcement.

+1 I loved FIS for my Advanced Linear Algebra class

As a math educator, I strongly dislike both Strang and Axler for a 1st course. I've heard great things about Strang's lectures, but his book is disorganized and too heavy on computation. Axler's book is wonderful, but as explicitly stated on the back cover, it's designed for a 2nd course and primarily aimed at math majors.

I recommend and teach my YouTube Live series out of Fraleigh [1], but unfortunately it's out of print. Lay seems to be a good modern alternative.

[1] https://linear.mathcanbeahobby.com

Neat! It feels like bridging the gap between infinitesimals intuition and epsilon-delta formalism. I wonder whether this approach could make a 1st course more rigorous, and whether that would be a good thing.

I have a hard time remembering this. But there’s also right-click, then Option to show secondary options (Copy becomes Move)

https://mujo.app I’ve been building a minimalist productivity app for musicians. Mujo adds time tracking, task management, notes and other “practice journal” tools into a simple metronome interface. Been hacking at the iOS version for a while, and starting to think about Android.

I built a proof of concept for a VC-scale app, and something like this is one of the core features. I applied to YC S24 and didn't get an interview (SUPER understandably). If anyone wants to hear details, shoot me an email (in bio); this project's vaporware until I find the right partner.

I’m sad to see this - I used to binge their videos a few years back. As someone who discovered and fell in love with classical music late in life (~26), and is now a hobbyist content creator [1] they were a terrific bridge into learning about orchestral instruments that I don’t play.

I agree with others that this seems like an attempt to pivot to “music as a higher art”, e.g. the rumored Two Set Academy, like a Tonebase competitor. Which is an absolute shame, because I think they did wonders to challenge that status quo and make classical music fun.

[1] Shameless, but if anyone is curious about an adult hobbyist learning classical guitar, I’m livestreaming almost daily: https://youtube.com/jcpractices

Just hit top 30 in all the standard races - thanks so much, this was such a delightful way to practice my new Glove80 :)

Building Mujo, a minimalist musicians' practice journal for iOS. It integrates time tracking, note taking, and task management into a familiar metronome UI/UX. I dearly love it (1400+ hours logged!) and it's slowly building traction. https://mujo.app

I think so. Another recent entry is purelymail, which I love because it's a flat rate for unlimited domains. I'm trying to spin up multiple "small bets", and per-user pricing is unreasonable, and for better or worse, I don't want a single catch-all email.

A secondary benefit for me is that Purelymail is cheap ($10/yr). But a major downside is that the CalDAV implementation doesn't yet support Accepted/Rejected scheduling responses. It's fantastic that they have CalDAV at all, but this one feature would seal the deal for me.

I don't mention it to suggest you could directly compete on that unlimited-users value prop, but it's an example along the lines that max_ suggests.

One that comes to mind is integration with recent ActivityPub / fediverse stuff. There might be cool design space there

Well, cross off another from my ever-growing list of “someday” projects. Looks excellent, well done!

Hope you keep going with it, it’s a blast!

Yea I’ve run through that a couple of years ago - was brilliant, had a lot of fun. But I mean to stay up to date and somehow contribute from the sidelines

I wish I had the free time to keep up with the mathlib project - this is so cool. Is there any way someone can get involved in a super hands-off way?

Today's a great day - what a delightful 2000's throwback on all fronts. I wonder if there's any connection between this article and the rumored Pitchfork -> GQ reorg.

Congrats! It’s a joy to see this today - I studied briefly with Prof. Wright, and have had a copy of Indra’s Pearls in my bookshelf for ages. It’s really beautiful art and math (from the little I understand).

I loved my 12 Mini, but by not including it in the Pro line (better materials, camera, screen, etc) I feel they never gave it a full chance - signaling from the outset "smaller is less". I desperately want to go back to the smaller size, but without sacrificing on the other dimensions.

Shipped two iOS apps so far:

1. I built https://pixelist.app as an extremely minimalist habit tracker, incorporating ideas from Atomic Habits and other similar books. ~3 years ago there weren’t many great habit trackers (as opposed to todo-lists), but now there’s been an explosion of them; IMO it’s still better than others in its simplicity, ability to quickly update your checklist for the prior week, and ability to self-rate “intensity” of completions. Still using it many years after the initial prototype.

2. I’m building https://mujo.app to replace my paper journal as a classical guitarist; think “Fitbit for musicians”. Knowing several pro musicians, the industry largely prefers paper or Google Docs/Sheets, due to existing apps being too complex. The UX is inspired by a simple digital metronome, adding modular widgets to record practice time, take notes, count repetitions, save tempo for exercises, etc. It’s niche, but I use it every day and love it.

I think I’ve heard MAGMA for this :)

Hey, a fellow classical guitarist!! Love that York piece and Lee’s Autumn Leaves

Extremely passionate about classical guitar.

I played electric in high school and developed some chops in jazz band. Loved it, but like many others, dropped it completely in college. Years later, I moved to SF for a FAANG and had an impossible time developing a new friend group; I wanted to reignite my old love in a new style, so I filled the time with weekly lessons with a well-known teacher in the area.

Fast forward 8 years later, that hobby’s turned into an obsession, and I’m now playing at a fairly high level. Am studying privately with a conservatory professor (not SF), who’s trying to get me to join for a Master’s degree. I’m performing regularly at public events & retirement homes, streaming most of my practice sessions on Twitch/YouTube, posting progress clips to other socials, and even built my own metronome/practice journal app to track time & organize notes (mujoapp.com). I love it all dearly as a lifelong and infinitely-deep hobby.

All socials:

http://linktr.ee/jcpractices

Capricho Arabe by Francisco Tarrega:

https://youtu.be/l3203CvetCs?si=Zf4BmjsvWo3BGi15

Sales pitch for Mujo:

https://youtu.be/3zh-RehOuDg

That’s a cute alternate world you lived in briefly :)

As a hyper-niche classical guitar streamer, I’m stoked for this. I previously ended my Affiliate program just to feel comfortable multi-streaming to YouTube: my target audience is so niche it feels important to reach audiences where they’re at. Hope this change helps build more niche genres!

Omg I haven’t played games in years, but this is the first remake I’m fully stoked for. I remember playing this when I was like… 8? Great game, and the VR treatment looks really well done. Congrats!

10 years at FAANG companies, laid off, now considering classical guitar conservatory + indie dev ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Really look forward to this every year, Timac is a legend. The rate of SwiftUI adoption and decrease in UIKit-only binaries feels significant. Thanks!

Yup, 58 minutes so far per https://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/instagram