Questions tagged [advice]

This tag is for questions requesting advice (e.g. on a suitable publishing venue, presentation strategy, career move, ethical dilemma). It should be used in conjunction with a more specific tag, such as [journals], [teaching], [career], or [ethics].

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93 votes
5 answers
12k views

Note rejected from arXiv: what to do next?

Short version: A note of mine was rejected by the arXiv moderation (something I didn't even know was possible) on account of being “unrefereeable”. The moderation process provides absolutely no ...
326 votes
16 answers
153k views

What's a mathematician to do? [closed]

I have to apologize because this is not the normal sort of question for this site, but there have been times in the past where MO was remarkably helpful and kind to undergrads with similar types of ...
173 votes
8 answers
19k views

How to escape the inclination to be a universalist or: How to learn to stop worrying and do some research.

As an undergraduate we are trained as mathematicians to be universalists. We are expected to embrace a wide spectrum of mathematics. Both algebra and analysis are presented on equal footing with ...
207 votes
14 answers
58k views

Why doesn't mathematics collapse even though humans quite often make mistakes in their proofs?

To begin with, I am aware of these questions, which seems to be related: How do I fix someone's published error?, Examples of common false beliefs in mathematics, When have we lost a body of ...
24 votes
5 answers
6k views

Is the field of q-series 'dead'? [closed]

I had a discussion with my advisor about what am I interested as my future research direction and I said it is special functions and q-series. He laughed and said that the topic is essentially dead ...
17 votes
3 answers
4k views

Contacting an eminent mathematician

I have recently started a PhD. and am researching an area that two now eminent mathematicians devoted considerable time to in the 1980s. However, there appears to have been fairly moderate focus on ...
29 votes
11 answers
9k views

Switching Research Fields

I am a recent PhD specializing in algebraic geometry. But I also want to do research in some other areas of math (e.g. quantum computation, compressed sensing, and PDE's). What would be a good way of ...
244 votes
8 answers
30k views

Need advice or assistance for son who is in prison. His interest is scattering theory

The letter below is written by my son. I have been sending him text books and looking for answers on the internet to keep his interest up. He has progressed so far on his own and now he needs ...
158 votes
8 answers
6k views

Resources for mathematics advising.

This question is possibly ill-advised. (If it is not right for this site I will delete it.) I, suddenly, have students. It is very clear to me that there is nothing in my education that has ...
57 votes
16 answers
8k views

What are examples of books which teach the practice of mathematics?

One may classify the types of mathematics books written for students into two groups: books which merely teach mathematics (i.e., they present theorems and proofs, ready-made, as it were) and those ...
57 votes
4 answers
5k views

Advice for PhD Supervisors

My first PhD student is having his viva tomorrow. Hence, I began contemplating a bit about the whole process of supervising. One thing I realized is that while there seems to be plenty of advice for ...
52 votes
8 answers
10k views

Publishing a bad paper?

First, I apologize if mathoverflow is a bad fit for this question, but it is the only place where I can think to get advice from professionals given my circumstance. I'm also sorry about any vagueness ...
49 votes
3 answers
13k views

how to use arxiv?

This is a soft question. How do people usually use arxiv to put their papers? At which stage does one usually put his/her paper/report there? Someone suggests me to submit a paper while putting it on ...
44 votes
8 answers
6k views

Should one attack hard problems? [closed]

When I applied for a PhD student position I had an interview with two professors. Somehow we touched the problem if $P$ is $NP$ and, once we got there, for some reason both professors made it clear ...
36 votes
5 answers
4k views

Advice for researchers outside academia

Perhaps some personal background is relevant to this question. A couple of years ago, I graduated with a master's degree in Applied Mathematics from a good Dutch university. Even though I obtained ...
31 votes
6 answers
8k views

Pros and cons of specializing in an esoteric research area

If a mathematician specializes in a popular research area, then there are many job positions available, but at the same time, many competitors who are willing to get such job positions. For an ...
31 votes
5 answers
5k views

How to pass on research posthumously

I've been independently researching math, for a while in the homeless community. While I am generally safe, situational realities (weather, equipment stress, health and especially how cities can ...
29 votes
17 answers
7k views

Research-only permanent positions worldwide

Most academic jobs involve some amount of teaching. Post-docs generally do not, but they are only short-term positions. Question: in which countries can one obtain a research-only permanent ...
23 votes
5 answers
4k views

How to get a research paper published after the author has died?

Sometimes, a mathematician dies suddenly, leaving behind very good mathematics that didn't make it through the publication pipeline. For example, it is possible they had a paper entirely ready to ...
David White's user avatar
  • 28.7k
22 votes
7 answers
3k views

Where to find (personal) motivation [closed]

I think it would be appropriate to make this question CW... It is likely that this question will not survive here on MO for long, but I do hope that the community gives it a chance. I also hope to ...
17 votes
6 answers
16k views

Curriculum vitae: including grants you've applied for, not received (or not yet received).

I've heard from multiple sources now that one's CV should include grants you've applied for, even if you didn't receive them or won't find out if you've received them until after your CV goes out. I ...
17 votes
2 answers
5k views

Training towards research on birational geometry/minimal model program

Being a not yet enrolled independently supervised graduate student in mathematics, with prospects of applying to American graduate schools hopefully in a 1-2 years' time, I have a background of having ...
Javier Álvarez's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
1k views

Should I write to the referee? [closed]

I have submitted a paper to a good journal about 3 months ago. Now I have realized that there is a mistake in the paper. Now I have completely corrected it. It is not a very serious error, but I ...
6 votes
5 answers
5k views

Technical phd after 33 [closed]

Is it a good idea to get a math/stats/theoretical cs phd after 33 in the hope of becoming a professor? I am an electrical engineer who did his phd in EE at a low ranked school. I have been working in ...
5 votes
7 answers
2k views

Resubmitting a paper

(Hopefully this question is not too "soft": I asked it at math.stackexchange.com recently and was advised to ask it here instead). I submitted a paper to quite a low-rated journal (impact factor ...
-5 votes
1 answer
457 views

Rejection of a paper because of not suitable level of rigor without a single example of a mathematical error/imprecision [closed]

Question 1. A paper was rejected because of 'not suitable level of rigour' without a single example of a mathematical error/imprecision. What can the author do in this situation? It sounds a matter of ...
Mikhail Skopenkov's user avatar