10
$\begingroup$

I spoke with a computer scientist a few weeks who told me that in computer science there is something called a "vision paper", which is a paper that does not contain concrete results, but rather outlines a more general vision of what one either wants to do, or how a field may develop etc. A future vision in any case is presented.
Searching the internet "vision paper" for computer science actually did not return many results - lest so for mathematics.

But maybe there do exist such journals that offer a home for such articles in mathematics and it just happened that I didn't find that. If you know of any, please let me know. The journal doesn't exclusively have to publish vision papers (actually, I think that would be bad, since it would probably be soon filled with all kinds of fantasies regarding how some subfields of mathematics might develop), but should also allow such papers. There are some journals that allow papers containing open problems and conjectures. I am looking for something a bit broader than that, where a vision of a field can be presented that is extrapolated from the current state.

I am interested because I myself am about to write such an article, and I'm not sure where to best post it. On a blog? I'd like to make it citeable and everything that purely online may vanish at some point in time (e.g. the blog providing company may shut down). A paper solely in arXiv? Would be an opportunity, but perhaps lacks in credentials.

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
12
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ I remember seeing a relevant question in this site... $\endgroup$
    – Praphulla Koushik
    Commented Sep 11, 2019 at 13:11
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ @PraphullaKoushik: I wonder if you are thinking about mathoverflow.net/questions/268482/publishing-conjectures ? From an answer there, maybe Arnold Math Journal is what is sought. $\endgroup$
    – Willie Wong
    Commented Sep 11, 2019 at 13:18
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @WillieWong This journal only allows conjectures; I'm looking for something a bit broader than that, something where a vision for a field can be presented (this is related to automated theorem proving), which is not necessarily tied to some concrete open problems. $\endgroup$
    – user43263
    Commented Sep 11, 2019 at 13:27
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ @user43263: did you look at the Aim/Scope of the Arnold Math Journal I mentioned? I think it is somewhat broader than "just conjectures". $\endgroup$
    – Willie Wong
    Commented Sep 11, 2019 at 13:41
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @WillieWong No, not that.. the question I am trying to remember is not about conjectures.. It is about results that authors claim to have proof but as a "trailer of a movie" they release a paper that gives main results in the upcoming paper... $\endgroup$
    – Praphulla Koushik
    Commented Sep 11, 2019 at 13:55

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
5
$\begingroup$

The "mother of all vision papers", the Langlands program, was simply a handwritten letter; so I would not worry too much about "where to post it", it's the content that will determine the impact.

For archival and citation purposes you could see if arXiv accepts it, and otherwise you could upload it on Zenodo: that will give you a DOI, and you can update the paper (the DOI will always point to the latest version). Zenodo is backed by CERN, so it should be a secure repository.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
2
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ In the first paragraph, regarding Langland's program, I'm afraid you are falling trap to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias regarding the way the Langlands program was announced. Nice way to put it though, the "mother of all vision papers" :) $\endgroup$
    – user43263
    Commented Sep 11, 2019 at 13:40
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ Another interpretation of the Langlands program is that what matters (in addition to content) is who it is sent to - in this case, Weil. If a vision is, for instance, the suggestion that mathematicians should attack a certain set of problems using certain methods, then the really important thing is to get it into the hands of mathematicians who know those methods - potentially personally or by giving talks, rather than by publishing. In this case even if it is published in a suitable venue, if the venue is not read by these mathematicians, the effect will be small. $\endgroup$
    – Will Sawin
    Commented Sep 11, 2019 at 17:09

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .