22
votes
13answers
2k views
Is there any proof that you feel you do not “understand”?
Perhaps the "proofs" of ABC conjecture or newly released weak version of twin prime conjecture or alike readily come to your mind. These are not the proofs I am looking for. Indeed …
-2
votes
1answer
158 views
Write ‘There is exactly 1 person…’ without the uniqueness quantifier [closed]
During a lecture today the prof. posed the question of how we could write "There is exactly one person whom everybody loves." without using the uniqueness quantifier.
The first p …
0
votes
1answer
87 views
link to a paper by Ramanujan
Hi friends,
Does anybody know of a pdf version of the following paper ?
Ramanujan, S. “Modular Equations and Approximations to Pi.” Quart. J. Pure Appl. Math. 45, 350-372, 1913-1 …
26
votes
16answers
5k views
Is rigour just a ritual that most mathematicians wish to get rid of if they could?
"No". That was my answer till this afternoon! "Mathematics without proofs isn't really mathematics at all" probably was my longer answer. Yet, I am a mathematics educator who was o …
1
vote
0answers
51 views
Reference needed for: Automatic generation of relevant mathematical exercises (similar to ones written by human) with the help of machine learning
I am doing research on automatic generation of relevant mathematical exercises (similar to ones written by human) with the help of machine learning.
I have found several researc …
3
votes
2answers
231 views
Asymptotics of a function
I hope this question is not too simple, but I would like to know the asymptotic behaviour of the following function $f: \mathbb{N}^{+} \rightarrow \mathbb{Q}$ where
$$
f(n) = \sum_ …
6
votes
4answers
1k views
What does a mathematician expect from mathematics education? [closed]
Consider that my question is not a personal and/or subjective question. Perhaps, you have hired a mathematics educator in your department and you are interested in finding a way to …
4
votes
1answer
491 views
Why do mathematicians prefer one definition over the other when they both define the same concept?
Here is a basic, though very important, example:
Hilbert takes as primary the notion of “congruence” (or “equal”) between segments. His first axiom of congruence “requires the poss …
7
votes
4answers
1k views
How to refer to a theorem that you have shown to be wrong
I am writing a paper about a flaw that I found in a published paper. There, the statement is called “Theorem 2”. In my paper, I am reproducing the other paper’s definitions, and st …
70
votes
87answers
9k views
What would you want to see at the Museum of Mathematics?
EDIT (30 Nov 2012): MoMath is opening in a couple of weeks, so this seems like it might be a good time for any last-minute additions to this question before I vote to close my own …
2
votes
3answers
185 views
Strong notions of general position
Hi!
I am looking for notions of general position that are stronger than linear general position.
To illustrate, 3 points in linear general position don't lie on a line. I want a …
0
votes
0answers
84 views
Behavior of a one-point-changing operation on functions
Let $n \in \mathbb N$, and $s: \mathbb N \rightarrow \mathbb N,\ p: (\mathbb N \rightarrow \mathbb N) \rightarrow \mathbb N$ be defined as follows:
$$
s(x) = x + 1; \\
p(f) = c(1), …
3
votes
2answers
913 views
List of Charlatans in Mathematics [closed]
Recently, while looking for articles and documents to learn about the Riemann Hyopthesis, I came across a strange funny document of a chinese "mathematician" called Jiang Chun-Xuan …
4
votes
1answer
294 views
Characterise all pairs of n/m stars that have the same inner radius
Geometry, algebra, and examples
Let n and m be integers, with 2 ≤ m < n/2. Consider the bounding polygon of an n/m star (that is, a star with n points each of which connects to …
7
votes
3answers
474 views
Formal writing: numbers under 10
I've been tasked with proofreading an Engineering/Mathematics thesis paper. I was always told that numbers under 10 should be spelled out (one, two, three, ...) but I was wondering …

