Matthew Schwartz built BootLoops, a toolkit for exact calculations in quantitative science. He used it with Claude to solve problems suited to LLM strengths. BootLoops found cross-field applications in ecology, population genetics and other areas. Initial results were technically correct but scientifically unremarkable without expert input. Experts helped steer BootLoops toward questions fields actually care about. Claude solved a 20-year-old equation in neutral biodiversity theory. The solution showed species change 4.5 times faster than theory allowed in Panama’s Barro Colorado Island. Schwartz and ecologist James O’Dwyer then built a predictive model of life histories. The model agrees with data and is being extended to global forest plots. BootLoops also solved 30 integrals, including 15 never before computed.
What changed
Scientists manually coded and solved complex integrals with limited cross-field application.
What it unlocks
Automating exact calculations across disparate scientific fields using BootLoops.
- 30 integrals computed
- 4.5 times faster species change
- 20 years unsolved equation
What you need to act on it
- Claude or similar LLM
- BootLoops toolkit
- Domain expert collaboration
Sources