User gowers

1051 votes

292 answers

342k views

Examples of common false beliefs in mathematics

asked May 4, 2010 at 21:02

216 votes

67 answers

45k views

Proofs that require fundamentally new ways of thinking

asked Dec 9, 2010 at 15:08

212 votes

40 answers

37k views

Demonstrating that rigour is important

asked Sep 3, 2010 at 13:08

158 votes

48 answers

23k views

Generalizing a problem to make it easier

asked Sep 26, 2010 at 8:09

128 votes

10 answers

19k views

Are there any very hard unknots?

asked Jan 27, 2011 at 9:35

120 votes

41 answers

28k views

What are some very important papers published in non-top journals?

asked Nov 6, 2015 at 16:38

104 votes

6 answers

19k views

Why does the Riemann zeta function have non-trivial zeros?

asked Feb 1, 2010 at 10:16

94 votes

4 answers

12k views

How can there be topological 4-manifolds with no differentiable structure?

asked Mar 10, 2011 at 12:02

83 votes

28 answers

7k views

What could be some potentially useful mathematical databases?

asked Jun 21, 2011 at 22:05

72 votes

31 answers

9k views

Can infinity shorten proofs a lot?

asked Nov 16, 2009 at 23:37

68 votes

7 answers

6k views

Can anyone give me a good example of two interestingly different ordinary cohomology theories?

asked Oct 21, 2009 at 22:23

67 votes

6 answers

7k views

How to recognise that the polynomial method might work

asked Oct 23, 2010 at 17:12

63 votes

11 answers

7k views

Has mathoverflow yet led to mathematical breakthroughs? [closed]

asked Jan 15, 2010 at 11:28

58 votes

6 answers

12k views

How does one use the Poisson summation formula?

asked Jun 20, 2010 at 10:29

55 votes

2 answers

19k views

What is the state of our ignorance about the normality of pi?

asked Jan 12, 2011 at 16:03

50 votes

4 answers

5k views

Difficult examples for Frankl's union-closed conjecture

asked Nov 26, 2010 at 11:04

46 votes

4 answers

5k views

What was Gödel's real achievement?

asked Apr 3, 2010 at 8:39

41 votes

7 answers

3k views

How would one even begin to try to prove that a simple number-theoretic statement is undecidable?

asked Jun 11, 2010 at 20:19

39 votes

7 answers

18k views

How many surjections are there from a set of size n?

asked Jun 25, 2010 at 10:34

30 votes

3 answers

3k views

Heuristic argument for the prime number theorem?

asked Feb 26, 2010 at 10:48

29 votes

5 answers

5k views

Partial sums of multiplicative functions

asked Jan 7, 2010 at 23:16

29 votes

3 answers

2k views

Improving a sequence of 1s and -1s

asked Jan 15, 2010 at 10:31

29 votes

2 answers

1k views

A combination of two well-known complexity problems

asked Sep 5, 2012 at 22:52

26 votes

6 answers

6k views

Are there any interesting examples of random NP-complete problems?

asked Oct 31, 2009 at 10:52

25 votes

3 answers

2k views

What can be proved about the Ramanujan conjecture using elementary means?

asked Mar 29, 2013 at 8:53

24 votes

2 answers

1k views

A geometric Ramsey problem

asked Jan 2, 2011 at 15:54

23 votes

2 answers

2k views

What is the complexity of this problem?

asked Jul 9, 2011 at 13:18

21 votes

3 answers

3k views

Is anything known about this braid group quotient?

asked May 11, 2011 at 15:04

17 votes

3 answers

1k views

Is there a non-constructive proof that a specific integer satisfies the Goldbach conjecture?

asked Aug 16, 2023 at 19:58

16 votes

1 answer

494 views

How much universality is there for contact processes?

asked Oct 14, 2011 at 9:52

Stack Exchange Network

46 Questions

Examples of common false beliefs in mathematics

Proofs that require fundamentally new ways of thinking

Demonstrating that rigour is important

Generalizing a problem to make it easier

Are there any very hard unknots?

What are some very important papers published in non-top journals?

Why does the Riemann zeta function have non-trivial zeros?

How can there be topological 4-manifolds with no differentiable structure?

What could be some potentially useful mathematical databases?

Can infinity shorten proofs a lot?

Can anyone give me a good example of two interestingly different ordinary cohomology theories?

How to recognise that the polynomial method might work

Has mathoverflow yet led to mathematical breakthroughs? [closed]

How does one use the Poisson summation formula?

What is the state of our ignorance about the normality of pi?

Difficult examples for Frankl's union-closed conjecture

What was Gödel's real achievement?

How would one even begin to try to prove that a simple number-theoretic statement is undecidable?

How many surjections are there from a set of size n?

Heuristic argument for the prime number theorem?

Partial sums of multiplicative functions

Improving a sequence of 1s and -1s

A combination of two well-known complexity problems

Are there any interesting examples of random NP-complete problems?

What can be proved about the Ramanujan conjecture using elementary means?

A geometric Ramsey problem

What is the complexity of this problem?

Is anything known about this braid group quotient?

Is there a non-constructive proof that a specific integer satisfies the Goldbach conjecture?

How much universality is there for contact processes?