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The most reliable way to keep up with Terence Tao's "What's new" blog is to subscribe to its feed, which the site lists directly in its navigation. If you prefer not to use a feed reader, you can also check the homepage, where posts appear in reverse-chronological order, or follow Tao on Mastodon, which is linked from the site's menu. The blog is a personal research and exposition site rather than a newsletter service, so there is no indication of an email subscription or paid tier — the feed is the primary built-in mechanism for staying current.

Subscribe via the site's feed

The blog's navigation includes a "Subscribe to feed" link, which is the intended way to receive new posts automatically.

1. Open the blog's homepage.
2. Locate the "Subscribe to feed" link in the top navigation menu.
3. Add that feed URL to your feed reader (for example, Feedly, Inoreader, NetNewsWire, or a self-hosted reader).
4. Your reader will then surface new posts as they are published, without you needing to revisit the site.

Expected result: new entries appear in your reader shortly after Tao publishes them. Common snag: if the feed URL doesn't load in your reader, try pasting it into a browser first to confirm it returns feed content rather than an error page.

Follow by browsing the homepage

If you'd rather not use a feed reader, the homepage itself works as a manual update check. Posts are listed newest-first, each with a date, category, and tags.

• Date tells you how recent a post is (for example, "4 October, 2026").
• Category and tags (such as expository, math.AP, Euler equations) let you judge relevance before reading.
• Author line distinguishes Tao's own posts from guest posts, which are labeled as such.

This is the simplest option if you only want to check in occasionally, but it requires you to remember to visit.

Follow via Mastodon

The site's menu links to Tao's Mastodon presence alongside "Home," "About," "Career advice," "On writing," and "Books." Following there can surface announcements and discussion in a social feed rather than a chronological blog list. This is a complement to the feed, not a replacement — not every blog post is guaranteed to be mirrored there.

Engage through comments

Comments are enabled on posts, so if your goal is not just to read but to discuss, you can follow a specific thread after reading. Note that individual posts may have comment activity that is more current than the post itself, which matters for fast-moving topics like the recent Euler and Navier–Stokes discussions.

Choosing between the options

If your priority is completeness, use the feed. If your priority is low friction, bookmark the homepage and check the date on the top post. If you want discussion, combine the feed with comment threads on the posts you care about.

What you'll be following

Knowing the blog's scope helps you decide how closely to track it. Recent homepage entries include expository and research posts such as "On classical solutions and singularity formation in incompressible fluids" (tagged expository, math.AP), course notes like "247A, Notes 2: The Hardy–Littlewood maximal function and applications," opinion and guest posts such as "What does the advent of powerful AI models mean for mathematicians like me?", and site news like "arXiv updates its rate limiting policy." The mix means updates arrive at irregular intervals and span research, teaching, and commentary — so a feed reader that lets you filter by tag is more useful than one that only shows a flat list.

Terence Tao's blog "What's new" treats AI as a live question for mathematics rather than a settled one. As of the posts visible on the site, the discussion appears in at least three forms: a guest post asking what powerful AI models mean for mathematicians, a research post noting that recent work on the Euler and Navier–Stokes equations was obtained with the aid of large language models, and editorial notes stating that some guest posts were converted from a different file format using AI. The blog is a personal and expository site, so these are individual perspectives and observations, not institutional positions.

The guest post on AI and mathematicians

The most direct item is a guest post by Jennifer Taback, published 3 October 2026 under the categories guest blog, math.GM, and opinion, titled "What does the advent of powerful AI models mean for mathematicians like me?" The excerpt on the site describes it as a response to "a stream of articles" questioning something about AI's role — the excerpt cuts off mid-sentence, so the specific claims of those articles are not visible in the available text.

What can be said from the page evidence:

• It is framed as an opinion piece by a working mathematician, not a technical result.
• It sits in the blog's guest blog category, meaning Tao hosts it but did not necessarily write it.
• Tao's editorial note says the post "was initially written in a different file format and converted using AI," which is itself a small data point about how AI is entering ordinary scholarly workflow.

AI in actual mathematical research

The research post "On classical solutions and singularity formation in incompressible fluids" (4 October 2026, expository, math.AP) is a guest post by Diego Córdoba and Luis Martínez-Zoroa. It surveys the question of whether an initially regular fluid flow can develop a singularity in finite time, covering the Euler equations formulated in 1757 and the Navier–Stokes equations.

The relevant AI detail is explicit in the excerpt: "The recent work on Euler and Navier–Stokes obtained with the aid of large language models has brought renewed attention to this question." So the blog records AI as a contributing tool in a current, active research area — not as a replacement for the decades of mathematical work the post also credits.

How to read these posts in context

If you want to understand the blog's stance on AI and mathematics, keep three distinctions in mind:

The blog's About page describes it as "Updates on my research and expository papers, discussion of open problems, and other maths-related topics." That framing matters: AI appears here as one topic among many, discussed alongside fluid dynamics, harmonic analysis course notes, and arXiv policy.

Practical takeaways

• To follow the AI-and-mathematics thread specifically, browse the opinion and guest blog categories rather than expecting a dedicated series.
• Treat the guest posts as authored views — the bylines and Tao's bracketed notes identify who wrote what.
• The site offers a feed subscription option; the excerpt lists "Subscribe to feed" among its navigation links, which is the straightforward way to catch new posts as they appear.
• Because the excerpts available are partial, read the full posts before drawing conclusions about specific arguments, especially where a sentence is cut off.

"What's new" is the personal mathematics blog of Terence Tao, hosted on WordPress at terrytao.wordpress.com. Its stated purpose is to publish "updates on my research and expository papers, discussion of open problems, and other maths-related topics." It is a working mathematician's blog rather than a news site or a course platform: posts mix original research announcements, expository writing, lecture notes, and commentary on the profession. If you want to follow one mathematician's ongoing output and thinking in real time, this is the site; if you need a structured textbook or a moderated Q&A forum, it is not.

What the blog actually publishes

The site's own description and visible post list show several recurring content types:

• Research and expository papers — announcements and explanations of Tao's own work, sometimes with links to preprints.
• Open problems — discussion of unsolved questions and partial progress.
• Course notes — numbered lecture notes, for example "247A, Notes 2: The Hardy–Littlewood maximal function and applications," which indicates graduate-level course material posted as it is taught.
• Guest posts — contributions from other mathematicians, clearly labeled as such.
• Commentary on the field — opinion and analysis about how mathematics is practiced, including the impact of new tools.

The visible headings on the page give a concrete sense of the range: a guest post on classical solutions and singularity formation in incompressible fluids (tagged with the Euler and Navier–Stokes equations), a guest post asking what powerful AI models mean for mathematicians, a post titled "AIM: an invitation to explore mathematics together," the 247A course notes, and a post about arXiv's rate limiting policy.

Who writes it

The blog is written by Terence Tao, with occasional guest posts by other mathematicians. Guest contributions are attributed to their authors, and Tao notes when a post was written in another format and converted with AI assistance — a detail worth knowing if you care about provenance. Comments are open on at least some posts; the AI-opinion guest post shows 13 comments, so reader discussion is part of the site.

How to read it

• Start with the feed. The site offers a feed subscription, so you can follow new posts without checking the page manually.
• Use the navigation for orientation. The site lists static pages including Home, About, Career advice, On writing, Books, Mastodon+, and Applets. "Career advice" and "On writing" are the pages to check if your interest is advice rather than mathematics.
• Expect mathematical prerequisites. The research and course-note posts assume a mathematics background; the opinion and career posts are more broadly accessible.
• Treat tags as your filter. Posts carry subject tags (for example, math.AP for analysis of PDEs, math.GM for general mathematics), which is the practical way to find everything on a topic.

What it is not

The site is a personal blog, not a peer-reviewed journal, so research posts are announcements and explanations rather than citable publications in themselves — follow the links to the actual papers. It is also not a systematic textbook: the course notes follow a particular course, not a curriculum. And the presence of a subscription option does not by itself tell you anything about pricing or access terms; the page evidence does not specify those, so check the site directly if that matters to you.

Who should follow it

Follow "What's new" if you are a mathematician or student who wants timely exposure to active research areas, expository treatments of hard material, and informed commentary on the state of the field. Skip it if you need self-contained introductory material, structured exercises with solutions, or a general-audience science feed — the posts are written for readers who already have mathematical training.

Terence Tao is the mathematician who writes What's new, a blog whose stated purpose is to share "updates on my research and expository papers, discussion of open problems, and other maths-related topics." If you are looking for a primary source on active mathematical research written for a mathematically literate audience, this is the site; if you want news, teaching material, or a general-audience math feed, it is not organized that way.

Who writes it

The blog is authored by Terence Tao, and the site identifies him as the writer in its own description. Posts are signed "by Terence Tao," and the blog also carries guest posts by other mathematicians, which are labeled as such. One example from the page evidence is a guest post by Diego Córdoba and Luis Martínez-Zoroa on classical solutions and singularity formation in incompressible fluids; another is a guest post by Jennifer Taback on what powerful AI models mean for mathematicians.

A recurring editorial note appears on guest posts: the text was initially written in a different file format and converted using AI. That note is attributed to Tao and is worth knowing if you are citing a post, since it tells you the prose passed through a conversion step.

What the blog is for

The site's own description sets three purposes:

• Research updates — announcements and discussion of Tao's own work.
• Expository papers — explanations of mathematical material, often written to make a topic accessible to readers with the right background.
• Open problems and other maths-related topics — discussion of unsolved questions and adjacent subjects.

The content is not limited to one field. The page evidence shows posts tagged math.AP (analysis of PDEs) and math.GM (general mathematics), alongside an opinion post and course notes. Topics visible in the headings include:

That mix is the point: the blog functions as a working mathematician's public notebook and noticeboard, not a single-topic column.

What else is on the site

Beyond the post stream, the site lists standing sections: Home, About, Career advice, On writing, Books, and a link to subscribe to the feed. These are stable pages rather than posts, and they cover things a reader might otherwise have to hunt for — background on the author, advice aimed at people building a mathematical career, notes on writing, and book information.

How to judge whether it fits your need

Use the blog if you want research-level or near-research-level mathematics explained by an active researcher, including pointers to open problems and reactions to developments in the field. Expect posts that assume mathematical maturity; the PDE post, for instance, moves directly into the Cauchy problem, local existence, and the distinction between global existence and finite-time blow-up.

Be careful about two things when reading:

• Guest posts are not all by Tao. Check the byline and the bracketed note at the top before attributing a view to him.
• Opinion posts are opinion. The AI-and-mathematicians post is filed under opinion and guest blog, so treat it as a contributed argument rather than a research result.

The site's description mentions subscribing to the feed, but the available material does not specify pricing or whether any part of the site requires an account, so do not assume either way from the presence of a subscribe link.

Terence Tao's "What's new" blog covers his research updates, expository papers on mathematics, discussion of open problems, and other maths-related topics. If you want to follow current work in analysis and partial differential equations, read expository explanations of advanced results, or see occasional commentary on how mathematics is changing, this blog is written for that audience. It is a personal academic blog rather than a course, journal, or news site, so the mix of topics follows what Tao and his guest authors are working on at a given time.

The main categories of posts

The blog's own description names four recurring strands:

• Research updates — announcements and explanations of new results, often with links to preprints or papers.
• Expository papers — longer write-ups that explain a body of mathematics to a general mathematical audience.
• Discussion of open problems — posts that frame questions the field has not resolved and describe approaches to them.
• Other maths-related topics — commentary, career advice, writing advice, and similar material.

Posts are tagged by subject area, so the most reliable way to judge fit is to scan the tags and headings rather than the blog as a whole.

Mathematics subject areas you will find

The visible posts on the front page show the range. A guest post by Diego Córdoba and Luis Martínez-Zoroa, "On classical solutions and singularity formation in incompressible fluids," is filed under expository and math.AP, with tags for the Euler equations and Navier–Stokes equations. That post discusses whether an initially regular fluid flow can develop a singularity in finite time, and describes constructing blow-ups through a cascade of vortex layers.

Another entry, "247A, Notes 2: The Hardy–Littlewood maximal function and applications," is course-style lecture notes in analysis. Taken together, these illustrate two common modes:

The subject tags are the practical filter. math.AP points to analysis of PDEs; other posts carry tags for general mathematics, opinion, and guest contributions.

Beyond pure mathematics

The blog also carries posts on the profession and on tools. One front-page item is "What does the advent of powerful AI models mean for mathematicians like me?", a guest post by Jennifer Taback filed under guest blog, math.GM, and opinion. Another is "arXiv updates its rate limiting policy," which is commentary on research infrastructure rather than mathematics itself.

There is also "AIM: an invitation to explore mathematics together," which points toward collaborative mathematical exploration. These posts are occasional rather than the core of the blog, but they are part of what it covers.

How to decide whether to follow it

• If you work in or study analysis, PDEs, or fluid dynamics, the expository and research posts are directly relevant.
• If you want teaching material, the numbered course notes (for example, the 247A series) are the closest thing to a structured sequence.
• If you are interested in how AI and new tools affect mathematical practice, the opinion and guest posts address that, though they are a minority of the content.
• If you need introductory or undergraduate-level exposition, note that much of the material assumes a research-level background; the course notes are the most accessible entry point.

One practical caveat: some guest posts were originally written in a different file format and converted using AI, as noted in the posts themselves. Treat those as you would any guest contribution — the mathematical content is attributed to the named authors, not to the conversion process.

Where to start

The blog offers a feed subscription, and the front page lists recent posts with their tags and comment counts. To judge fit quickly, open two or three posts in your area of interest and check whether the level and style match what you want; the tags and headings give you that information before you commit to reading a full expository paper.