Questions tagged [math-communication]
Communicating mathematics to peers, to students, to the general public. For mathematics of communication (channels etc.) use it.information-theory
55 questions
94 votes
19 answers
13k views
List of crowdsourced math projects actively seeking participants
I believe that with the advent of modern online collaboration platforms (such as Github), proof assistant languages (such as Lean), and (potentially) AI tools, there are many emerging opportunities ...
50 votes
2 answers
4k views
How do mathematical developments make their way into the mass media?
This question may seem off topic, and feel free to express that, but first let me say why I think it belongs here. Every so often there are articles in mainstream newspapers, and also in popular ...
2 votes
2 answers
515 views
Heuristic interpretations of the PA-unprovability of Goodstein's Theorem
I've relatively recently learned about Goodstein's Theorem and its unprovability in Peano arithmetic (the Kirby-Paris Theorem). I do not have any real knowledge of formal logic; but I think I've seen ...
- 902
8 votes
1 answer
2k views
Mathematical emails
How should one archive mathematical emails (especially keeping in mind that one may move from one institution to another, or may forget precise wording later on so that searching becomes difficult)? ...
35 votes
8 answers
11k views
Do mathematicians rely on senses other than vision and hearing?
The senses of vision and hearing are commonly recognized as being important for the study of mathematics, with fields like geometry and topology relying heavily on vision, while algebra and number ...
12 votes
1 answer
4k views
How to indicate when another author has done nothing significant
Context: I am currently working on a rather important paper for my career, in the sense that it is a culmination of the past 5 years of (post Ph.D.) research. I started this particular article with 3 ...
- 4,942
11 votes
4 answers
3k views
How about a statement without proof?
Consider a statement without proof in a paper, with the following assumptions: it is unknown, it is unused in the paper, it is not written as a theorem (or proposition, or lemma…), but just a free ...
- 27.6k
81 votes
22 answers
16k views
How would you have answered Richard Feynman's challenge?
Reading the autobiography of Richard Feynman, I struck upon the following paragraphs, in which Feynman recall when, as a student of the Princeton physics department, he used to challenge the students ...
30 votes
17 answers
7k views
Lunch seminars for PhD students
The problem that I would like to ask about is metamathematical, but I hope the question is appropriate. I would like to know if there exist mathematical departments that run a regular seminar for all ...
4 votes
0 answers
203 views
Asymptotics of holonomic recurrences and the Birkhoff-Trjitzinsky method
While reading about asymptotics of holonomic recurrences, I had the following impressions that are related to the divulgation of the theory: I don't know what is the current status of the divulgation ...
3 votes
5 answers
1k views
Interesting topics for (very) short talks [closed]
Part of the requirements for my Honours is that I record a short 4-7 minute digital talk, which is then distributed to all the other students and staff at my university’s mathematics department. The ...
9 votes
1 answer
410 views
What are some good practices which help researchers to contextualize their research?
From talks and lectures to paper writing, when researchers communicate their research, it is often very important to motivate the reader with some background information about that topic. Some of this ...
- 3,645
28 votes
6 answers
2k views
Online events during the quarantine
With many places on earth subjected to quarantine and large gathering prohibited, there are announcements of online seminars and talks open to people around the world. The talks can be conducted via ...
80 votes
30 answers
6k views
Atlas-like websites on specific areas of mathematics
In this post, we look for the existing atlas-like websites providing well-presented classifications or database about some specific areas of mathematics. Here are some examples: GroupNames: https://...
25 votes
3 answers
2k views
Software and ideas for workshops and conferences with long-distance participants
Conferences and workshops are often great - getting together and being together is an ideal setting for doing research and learning things. However, there are various reasons to encourage the ...
1 vote
0 answers
164 views
Specific versus general in titles of papers [closed]
It may not be possible to use mathoverflow in the way I'm hoping to, but my question is this: Should the title of a research paper in mathematics be as accurate and specific as possible (at the cost ...
- 1,201
21 votes
3 answers
2k views
Design principles for good undergraduate textbooks to enhance student understanding
I am writing an ODEs textbook for second year students and I would like to get inspirations on general good designs on undergraduate textbooks taught in the first two years (i.e. calculus, linear ...
7 votes
0 answers
382 views
Would you like a subject class for semigroup theory on the arXiv?
After contacting the arxiv recently about possibly adding semigroup theory as a subject class, they suggested I canvas the research community to establish whether such a subject class would be used ...
- 87
44 votes
6 answers
4k views
Explaining the main ideas of proof before giving details
I'll be the first to admit that this is a risky question to try to get away with on math overflow, but I'm going to give it a shot anyway. Roughly speaking, the question is this: Is it good to try to ...
6 votes
2 answers
670 views
Online Interactive mathematics games for mathematicians or mathematicians-to-be!
I am aware that this is not a research level mathematics question. Also, it would not have a single answer (if any) and yet, I hoping that it will be considered as a community wiki question worthy of ...
8 votes
0 answers
552 views
What to do if someone doesn't want to publish a result? [closed]
Unfortunately, there are many unpublished results that should be published or at least made available online. For different reasons, the author might not want to publish it. The result can also fall ...
- 19.7k
1 vote
1 answer
298 views
Paper, open source English translation [closed]
Please suggest a paper that should be translated into English and posted on arXiv. A few existing suggestions on MO are Die 5-fach transitiven Gruppen von Mathieu, Witt (DOI) Die Monodromie der ...
- 171
54 votes
34 answers
15k views
Most intriguing mathematical epigraphs
Good epigraphs may attract more readers. Sometimes it is necessary. Usually epigraphs are interesting but not intriguing. To pick up an epigraph is some kind of nearly mathematical problem: it ...
15 votes
2 answers
3k views
Should we post on arXiv only papers in publishable shape (or very close)?
Question: Should we post on arXiv only papers in publishable shape (or very close)? This question should be distinguished from the following: Should one post a paper on the arXiv if it is not ...
31 votes
5 answers
2k views
The unpublished papers in reference to the published papers
Sometimes it happens that a published paper refers to an unpublished paper for a result used. In this case, if we want to check this result by ourselves, we need to access to this unpublished paper. ...
14 votes
2 answers
1k views
Describe the desired features of a "Mathematics Colloquium"?
I'm now a member of my department's colloquium committee. Our task is to make a great colloquium series. I thought that the first step would be to come up with an appropriate definition of "...
3 votes
0 answers
215 views
Is the ISC kaput [closed]
The very useful Inverse Symbolic Calculator is showing me this What's up? multiple choice (a) No, it's fine at that address: idiot Edgar did something wrong... (b) It is off-line at that address,...
- 41.7k
47 votes
15 answers
15k views
How does the work of a pure mathematician impact society? [closed]
First, I will explain my situation. In my University most of the careers are doing videos to explain what we do and try to attract more people to our careers. I am in a really bad position, because ...
21 votes
3 answers
1k views
Where to look for corrections of papers?
When I start reading a paper, is there some easy way to find a list of corrections for that paper? For example, it happens occasionally that some result of a paper turns out to be wrong, or at least ...
7 votes
5 answers
3k views
What does a mathematician expect from mathematics education? [closed]
Consider that my question is not a personal and/or subjective question. Perhaps, you have hired a mathematics educator in your department and you are interested in finding a way to communicate with ...
9 votes
1 answer
941 views
How would you cite a result that it is not quite correct, but whose proof contains some useful ideas
There is a paper that was published 15 years ago; one of the theorems in it is wrong in general. A few years ago some people told the author that this theorem is wrong as stated, but yet a partial ...
28 votes
6 answers
2k views
Means of Promoting Mathematics in Young Countries!
We all know mathematics is life, this question is for Mankind. It's mathoverflow here when some parts of the world we have mathunderflow! I think we can do something through ideas. A similar ...
109 votes
20 answers
19k views
Mathematical habits of thought and action which would be of use to non-mathematicians
Once again I come to MO for help with something I'm writing for the public. Which habits of mathematicians -- aspects of the way we approach problems, the way we argue, the way we function as a ...
68 votes
6 answers
4k views
Good ways to engage in mathematics outreach?
Greetings all, I have often heard that it would be good if we as a community did more in the way of mathematics outreach: more to explain what it is we do to the community at large, more to expose ...
83 votes
16 answers
10k views
Tools for long-distance collaboration
Background In general, I am aware of four and a half methods of long-distance collaboration: Telephone (including voice-chat, VOIP, etc.; anything that is voice based) Text chat (chat room, IM, ...
193 votes
130 answers
69k views
Most memorable titles
Given the vast number of new papers / preprints that hit the internet everyday, one factor that may help papers stand out for a broader, though possibly more casual, audience is their title. This view ...
414 votes
23 answers
76k views
Thinking and Explaining
How big a gap is there between how you think about mathematics and what you say to others? Do you say what you're thinking? Please give either personal examples of how your thoughts and words differ, ...
40 votes
21 answers
17k views
Journals for undergraduates
Are there math journals that are aimed for undergraduates? I don't mean here journals where students can publish their papers, but journals that publish introductory articles that an undergraduate can ...
228 votes
11 answers
27k views
Refereeing a Paper [closed]
I've refereed at least a dozen papers in my (short) career so far and I still find the process completely baffling. I'm wondering what is actually expected and what people tend to do... Some things ...
6 votes
0 answers
403 views
Non-English language Mathematical podcasts/audio
Following on from this question, does anyone know of any good quality non-English language mathematical podcasts? I'm particularly interested in anything relating to the history of mathematics. I'm ...
- 569
198 votes
44 answers
46k views
Are there other nice math books close to the style of Tristan Needham?
I've been very positively impressed by Tristan Needham's book "Visual Complex Analysis", a very original and atypical mathematics book which is more oriented to helping intuition and insight than to ...
38 votes
10 answers
6k views
Presenting a paper: Do's and Don'ts?
I was wondering what would be the best way to present your paper at a conference, if your paper is selected for "short communication", lasting for about 15 minutes? Should you concentrate on the main ...
4 votes
5 answers
13k views
What is the difference between the biconditional iff. and equality = ?
Hello, I've been used to writing logical transformations using equality, but the other day it struck me that perhaps I should be using the biconditional $\iff$? So my question is: What is the ...
54 votes
7 answers
4k views
How to know if somebody else is also working on your problem?
Once you have spotted a mathematical problem that (presumably) fits your degree of expertise, whether you are a phd student or an established professor, you have to deal with the following non ...
6 votes
2 answers
3k views
Why are the Dynkin diagrams E6, E7 and E8 always drawn the way they are drawn?
The Dynkin diagrams of type ADE are ubiquitous in mathematics as solutions of various classification problems. The diagram E6 is usually drawn by five dots in a row with a sixth dot above the third, ...
- 61
149 votes
15 answers
23k views
Is a free alternative to MathSciNet possible?
How could a free (i.e. free content) alternative for MathSciNet and Zentralblatt be created? Comments Some mathematicians have stopped writing reviews for MathSciNet because they feel their output ...
203 votes
83 answers
46k views
Which math paper maximizes the ratio (importance)/(length)?
My vote would be Milnor's 7-page paper "On manifolds homeomorphic to the 7-sphere", in Vol. 64 of Annals of Math. For those who have not read it, he explicitly constructs smooth 7-manifolds which are ...
13 votes
1 answer
9k views
On the proofs (and disproofs) of Riemann Hypothesis [closed]
As anyone who follows the arxiv, I notice every now and then "proofs" and "disproofs" of Riemann Hypothesis. I looked on several such articles, and it seemed to me quite nonsense, but I didn't make ...
- 3,412
48 votes
1 answer
6k views
Is it best to run or walk in the rain? [closed]
According to the Norwegian meterological institute, the answer is that it is best to run. According to Mythbusters (quoted in the comments to that article), the answer is that it is best to walk. My ...
- 27.1k
7 votes
4 answers
6k views
Beamer hints and tips [closed]
I deleted a rant from this question because I felt it detracted from the given answer to the specific question. However, beamer is the "new kid on the block" in terms of giving talks (not that new!) ...