11 questions linked to/from Thinking and Explaining
40k views

### What elementary problems can you solve with schemes?

I'm a graduate student who's been learning about schemes this year from the usual sources (e.g. Hartshorne, Eisenbud-Harris, Ravi Vakil's notes). I'm looking for some examples of elementary self-...
6k views

### A down-to-earth introduction to the uses of derived categories

When I was learning about spectral sequences, one of the most helpful sources I found was Ravi Vakil's notes here. These notes are very down-to-earth and give a kind of minimum knowledge needed about ...
3k views

### Journals and other sources with “easy reading” papers?

Some time ago the journal "Algebra and Analysis" (English translation is published in "St. Petersburg Mathematical Journal") had a special section which was called "easy readings for professional ...
3k views

### Explaining the Main Ideas of Proof before Giving Details

I'll be the first to admit that this is a risky question to try to get away with on math overflow, but I'm going to give it a shot anyway. Roughly speaking, the question is this: Is it good to try to ...
3k views

### Elementary Proof of Riemann-Roch for Compact Riemann Surfaces

I am supposed to give a talk about the Riemann-Roch theorem to a seminar of first and second year graduate students. I want to do Riemann-Roch for compact Riemann surfaces, but I am open to perhaps ...
11k views

### What is an étale theta function?

Let me start out by urging you to take seriously that whatever I write about the papers surrounding IUTT really are questions. If you would like to use it as a guide to the mathematics in any way, ...
1k views

### Expert, Intuitive, Organizing Analogies

In learning a new area it is very helpful to have high-level intuitive analogies that keep track of the various parts of an important argument or strategy. Experts have a store of such things, and ...
3k views

### Why do we use $\epsilon$ and $\delta$?

My understanding (from a talk by Rob Bradley) is that Cauchy is responsible for the now-standard $\epsilon{-}\delta$ formulation of calculus, introduced in his 1821 Cours d’analyse. Although perhaps ...
815 views

### Source for analysis of identification of structures in learner's mind and mathematical structures?

Concerning the structure of the learner's mind, psychologist Piaget claimed that There exists, as a function of the development of intelligence as a whole, a spontaneous and gradual construction ...