Lex Fridman Podcast

Luís and João Batalha: Fermat's Library and the Art of Studying Papers | Lex Fridman Podcast #209

Luis and Joao Batalha are co-founders of Fermat's Library. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - Skiff: https://skiff.org/lex to get early access - SimpliSafe: https://simplisafe.com/lex and use code LEX to get a free security camera - Indeed: https://indeed.com/lex to get $75 credit - NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/lex to get free product tour - Four Sigmatic: https://foursigmatic.com/lex and use code LexPod to get up to 60% off EPISODE LINKS: Fermat's Library Twitter: https://twitter.com/fermatslibrary Luis's Twitter: https://twitter.com/luismbat Joao's Twitter: https://twitter.com/joao_batalha Fermat's Library Website: https://fermatslibrary.com PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ Full episodes playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 Clips playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOeciFP3CBCIEElOJeitOr41 OUTLINE: 0:00 - Introduction 2:22 - Backstories to research papers 17:13 - Fermat's Library 37:14 - Scientific publishing 1:00:54 - How to read a paper 1:06:48 - Taking good notes 1:15:27 - Favorite papers on Fermat's Library 1:56:18 - Fermat's Library on Twitter 2:05:50 - What it takes to build a successful startup 2:14:46 - Game of Thrones 2:17:34 - Realism in science fiction movies 2:23:33 - Greatest soccer player of all time 2:46:22 - Advice for young people SOCIAL: - Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman - Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman - Reddit: https://reddit.com/r/lexfridman - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman

Lex FridmanhostLuís BatalhaguestJoão Batalhaguest

Aug 9, 20212h 54mWatch on YouTube ↗

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Fermat’s Library, Backstories, And Reimagining How We Do Science Online

Lex Fridman talks with Luís and João Batalha, co‑founders of Fermat’s Library, about how we read, share, and build on scientific papers. They argue that the human backstory behind breakthroughs—Feynman’s wobbling plate, Goodfellow’s bar‑room GANs idea, Perelman’s protest via arXiv—makes science both more memorable and more honest. A large part of the conversation critiques today’s journal/paywall/peer‑review ecosystem, exploring preprints, open annotation, crowd review, and how metrics like impact factor distort incentives. They also dive into how Fermat’s Library works, how to actually read and annotate papers, why math/physics are inherently “democratic,” and even use sports and Game of Thrones to illustrate scientific thinking.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Human backstories make scientific ideas more understandable and memorable.

Knowing that Feynman’s QED work started from watching plates wobble, or that GANs came from a bar conversation, reframes papers as chapters in a longer, messy story rather than isolated eureka moments. This context helps students remember both the result and why it matters.

Fermat’s Library aims to turn dense PDFs into living, annotated documents.

Through Journal Club, the Margins app, and the Librarian browser overlay on arXiv, Fermat’s Library lets anyone add LaTeX/Markdown annotations, clarify missing steps, and discuss papers at the locus of the text, gradually making seminal work more accessible over time.

The current journal/paywall model misaligns incentives and wastes public funding.

Governments fund research, scientists write and review for free, then publicly funded universities buy the same content back from for‑profit publishers. Impact factors turn citations into a gameable currency, pushing researchers toward hype and quantity rather than durable quality.

Preprints and overlay journals show viable paths toward open, faster science.

ArXiv and bioRxiv let results appear years before journal publication, enabling rapid iteration in fields like machine learning. Overlay journals (e.g., Discrete Analysis, Quantum) layer transparent peer review and curation on top of preprints without re‑locking content behind paywalls.

Reading papers well requires embracing confusion, iteration, and strategic skimming.

The Batalhas emphasize that papers are not optimized for clarity. Techniques like reading conclusions and related work first, hopping through references, and tolerating long “lost” periods before a sudden understanding can make unfamiliar areas tractable.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

Papers are not optimized for clarity; they’re optimized for fitting into a few journal pages.

— Luís Batalha

If you’re struggling to read a paper, it might not mean the material is that hard.

— João Batalha

We might be past the event horizon for paywalled journals. The model just doesn’t make sense.

— Luís Batalha

You’re the best possible teacher for your future self right after you’ve understood something.

— João Batalha

I really believe it’s possible to get everyone to love math or physics. It’s not a function of the student; it’s a function of how you reveal the hidden beauty.

— Luís Batalha

The importance of scientific backstories and human context behind papersFermat’s Library: goals, tools (Journal Club, Margins, Librarian) and designCritique of journals, paywalls, impact factors, and peer review incentivesPreprints, arXiv/bioRxiv, overlay journals, and open science modelsHow to read papers effectively and take notes/annotations that stickUsing social media (Twitter) to teach math/physics in tiny, viral unitsExamples of collaborative and public-facing science (Polymath, Tao, Perelman)

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