Inference

New: In the mid-1980s, an enigmatic document began circulating in French mathematical circles. Entitled Récoltes et Semailles, it was a lengthy, philosophical and deeply personal tract from the elusive mathematician Alexander Grothendieck, by then living in self-imposed seclusion. Now published officially for the first time, Pierre Schapira casts a critical eye over the book and some notable omissions.

(Essay available in both English and the original French.)

A Truncated Manuscript | Pierre Schapira | Inference In the mid-1980s, an enigmatic document began circulating in French mathematical circles. Entitled Récoltes et Semailles, it was a lengthy, philosophical and deeply personal tract from the elusive mathematician Alexander Grothendieck, by then living in self-imposed seclusion. Now published official...

As the end of the year approaches, the editors are delighted to present our second annual review, highlighting the essays that best represent our aims, ambitions, attitudes, and even our animadversions. Collected here are some notable essays we published this year, some illuminating exchanges from our letters section, and a selection of our favorite links from The Rambler.

Wishing our readers, contributors, and followers all the very best for the new year ahead.

2022: The Year in Review | The Editors | Inference As the end of the year approaches, the editors are delighted to present our second annual review, highlighting the essays that best represent our aims, ambitions, attitudes, and even our animadversions. Collected here are some notable essays we published this year, some illuminating exchanges from o...

New: From Douglas Hofstadter, a sweetish suite of machine translations of a pseudo-Swedish paragraph. The resulting gobbledygook reveals the zombie-like nature of these highly vaunted programs. https://inference-review.com/article/wacky-jabber

Were conscious perception updated only twice per second, as some claim, decisions would be made during an unconscious processing stage, meaning our free will might just be an illusion.

Long Thoughts | Rufin VanRullen | Inference Consciousness is formed in discrete windows of perception, yet the exact length of these windows remains debated. Michael Herzog et al. claim that consciousness is updated just twice per second. Should this be the case, decisions would take place during an unconscious processing stage, meaning our f...