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what is definition of generic function in following paper ? i need a reference for definition generic function .

"A. Hatcher, W. Thurston, A presentation for the mapping class group of a closed orientable surface "

...let f be any generic function on M having $C_1, . . . , C_r$ as non-critical level curves....

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    $\begingroup$ This was already posted on Math StackExchange here. It is considered rude on these sites to cross-post without pointing out the other post, as it could lead to duplication of effort. KReiser's comment on the MSE post is correct. One often says that an element of some particular comeagre set of functions is 'a generic function'. Hatcher and Thurston are looking at the space of smooth functions for which C_1, ..., C_g are non-critical level curves, and "generic" means whatever it needs for the argument to work; I'd need to read the paper to say more. $\endgroup$
    – mme
    Commented Dec 24, 2021 at 20:26
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    $\begingroup$ @‍KReiser's comment referenced by @mme. $\endgroup$
    – LSpice
    Commented Dec 24, 2021 at 21:28
  • $\begingroup$ For a topological space X, "a generic element of X" means: "an element of a second category subset of X". $\endgroup$
    – Pietro Majer
    Commented Dec 25, 2021 at 9:09

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