Timeline for What's a mathematician to do?
Current License: CC BY-SA 2.5
6 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2010 at 0:47 | comment | added | Gerry Myerson | I didn't mean to say that an undergraduate can't create original mathematics, only that no undergrad should feel she'll never create original mathematics just because, as an undergrad, she can't see how she's ever going to be able to do it. | |
| Oct 27, 2010 at 20:39 | comment | added | Yemon Choi | Walking before running, and all that | |
| Oct 27, 2010 at 19:29 | comment | added | Justin Campbell | Agreed, Andy: but "pressure" is not quite the sentiment I meant to express. Isn't it healthy for undergraduates who want to go into research to at least have some exposure to the practices of working mathematicians, even if they don't have actual research experience? That way, during the crucial period when they are first expected to produce original mathematics, the process doesn't seem so bewildering. This is more for the purpose of creating interesting mathematical narratives than publishing paper after paper, of course. | |
| Oct 27, 2010 at 16:56 | comment | added | Andy Putman | I don't think you should discourage them, but I also think that it's extremely unhealthy for undergraduates to feel pressure to "do research". Most undergraduates (including most undergraduates who go on to top grad schools and end up becoming top researchers) don't prove any original theorems during their undergraduate years. | |
| Oct 27, 2010 at 16:49 | comment | added | Justin Campbell | I don't agree that an undergraduate can't create original mathematics, if that's what you mean to say. Maybe they require more help from an advisor than graduate students typically do, but that's no reason to discourage the OP or any undergraduate from trying to do new mathematics as soon as possible. | |
| Oct 27, 2010 at 5:02 | history | answered | Gerry Myerson | CC BY-SA 2.5 |