Timeline for Is Algebraic Geometry really natural? [closed]
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
12 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 6, 2020 at 13:19 | comment | added | Qfwfq | (...) So unirationality of supersingular K3s, or what have you, maybe is not "theory building" per se, but lives in an ecosystem made of highly interrelated structures that needed a great deal of very general theory to exist. | |
| Aug 6, 2020 at 13:19 | comment | added | Qfwfq | @crispr: Well, there is no sharp line between the two aspects in any discipline (e.g. on which side is the Langlands program?). But I think there is at the same time a general feeling that some disciplines progress (or have progressed in the past) by augmenting the structural aspects of their foundations more than others. For example, I feel like this is true for algebraic geometry more than, say, PDE theory. (...) | |
| Aug 6, 2020 at 7:41 | comment | added | user158636 | @Qfwfq but which one is algebraic geometry? Is studying the rationality of cubic fourfolds theory building? Or the unirationality of supersingular K3s? | |
| Jan 29, 2012 at 19:44 | history | closed |
Dan Petersen Tim Perutz Bruce Westbury Qfwfq Tom Goodwillie |
not constructive | |
| Jan 29, 2012 at 19:41 | comment | added | Qfwfq | (btw, voted to close as subjective and argumentative) | |
| Jan 29, 2012 at 19:40 | comment | added | Qfwfq | It's one instance of the rough subdivision of mathematicians between "theory builders" and "problem solvers": both are doing natural and important mathematics, but sometimes they can't fully appreciate each other's viewpoint. | |
| Jan 29, 2012 at 19:39 | answer | added | Charles Matthews | timeline score: 12 | |
| Jan 29, 2012 at 19:24 | comment | added | Eric Naslund | I think this question would have more potential if it was worded differently. Rather then asking if algebraic geometry is "just a trend in maths (for producing Fields medalists)" the following two questions may be likely to elicit deeper responses: "What motivated the study of Algebraic Geometry?" and "What problems in other areas of mathematics have been solved by using Algebraic Geometry?" | |
| Jan 29, 2012 at 19:22 | comment | added | Tim Perutz | Victor, I voted to close as "subjective and argumentative", because discussions of this question are likely to be both of those things, hence off-topic for MO. | |
| Jan 29, 2012 at 19:15 | answer | added | Dustin Clausen | timeline score: 12 | |
| Jan 29, 2012 at 19:14 | comment | added | Asaf Karagila♦ | Condescending people are annoying everywhere. In mathematics people would often see their field as "THE" tool for doing mathematics, but this is really just "Everything looks like a nail when you're hold a hammer." variation. I do agree, however, that certain problems in mathematics can be easily solved with different tools. | |
| Jan 29, 2012 at 19:04 | history | asked | Victor | CC BY-SA 3.0 |