User Steven Landsburg

227 votes

What are some examples of colorful language in serious mathematics papers?

answered Nov 22, 2010 at 1:54

76 votes

Examples of using physical intuition to solve math problems

answered Nov 22, 2010 at 2:09

59 votes

Extremely messy proofs

answered Mar 30, 2011 at 21:33

50 votes

Mathematical "urban legends"

answered Jan 25, 2011 at 3:40

50 votes

Has incorrect notation ever led to a mistaken proof?

answered Aug 9, 2018 at 17:48

49 votes

How did Lefschetz do mathematics without hands?

answered Jun 25, 2019 at 3:06

46 votes

Examples of interesting false proofs

answered Apr 21, 2012 at 15:18

45 votes

Examples of math hoaxes/interesting jokes published on April Fool's day?

answered Apr 1, 2016 at 12:35

45 votes

History of the high-dimensional volume paradox

answered Apr 27, 2013 at 1:32

40 votes

Structures that turn out to exhibit a symmetry even though their definition doesn't

answered Dec 13, 2013 at 20:36

38 votes

Teaching homology via everyday examples

answered Jan 1, 2014 at 14:58

37 votes

Accepted

Can the nth projective space be covered by n charts?

answered Nov 26, 2021 at 2:59

34 votes

Thomason's "open letter" to the mathematical community

answered Aug 25, 2023 at 14:03

34 votes

Accepted

Coefficients in cohomology

answered Apr 30, 2011 at 15:58

30 votes

How misleading is it to regard $\frac{dy}{dx}$ as a fraction?

answered Aug 23, 2011 at 15:06

30 votes

What is the Beilinson regulator?

answered Oct 24, 2014 at 19:00

28 votes

Accepted

Is every projective $\mathbf{Z}[x]$-module free?

answered Mar 3, 2013 at 0:39

26 votes

Random vs Unknown

answered Oct 16, 2013 at 5:30

26 votes

Accepted

Do all exact sequences $0 \rightarrow A \rightarrow A \oplus B \rightarrow B \rightarrow 0$ split for finitely generated abelian groups?

answered May 20, 2014 at 16:43

26 votes

Most intricate and most beautiful structures in mathematics

answered Dec 12, 2010 at 18:03

23 votes

Google question: In a country in which people only want boys

answered Dec 21, 2010 at 23:40

23 votes

Accepted

What do higher Chow groups mean?

answered Aug 7, 2011 at 15:15

23 votes

On starting graduate school and common pitfalls...

answered May 30, 2012 at 14:47

22 votes

Problems where we can't make a canonical choice, solved by looking at all choices at once

answered Dec 21, 2010 at 4:43

22 votes

How to explain to an engineer what algebraic geometry is?

answered Oct 23, 2018 at 14:38

22 votes

Is metatheory, providing proof of the incompleteness theorem, consistent?

answered Jan 17, 2013 at 10:59

21 votes

Examples of common false beliefs in mathematics

answered Nov 27, 2010 at 15:24

21 votes

Accepted

Other Homology Theories still Count Holes?

answered Mar 15, 2012 at 6:19

20 votes

How is it that you can guess if one of a pair of random numbers is larger with probability > 1/2?

answered Dec 16, 2010 at 20:03

20 votes

Are the rationals homeomorphic to any power of the rationals?

answered Nov 12, 2013 at 15:36

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309 Answers

What are some examples of colorful language in serious mathematics papers?

Examples of using physical intuition to solve math problems

Extremely messy proofs

Mathematical "urban legends"

Has incorrect notation ever led to a mistaken proof?

How did Lefschetz do mathematics without hands?

Examples of interesting false proofs

Examples of math hoaxes/interesting jokes published on April Fool's day?

History of the high-dimensional volume paradox

Structures that turn out to exhibit a symmetry even though their definition doesn't

Teaching homology via everyday examples

Can the nth projective space be covered by n charts?

Thomason's "open letter" to the mathematical community

Coefficients in cohomology

How misleading is it to regard $\frac{dy}{dx}$ as a fraction?

What is the Beilinson regulator?

Is every projective $\mathbf{Z}[x]$-module free?

Random vs Unknown

Do all exact sequences $0 \rightarrow A \rightarrow A \oplus B \rightarrow B \rightarrow 0$ split for finitely generated abelian groups?

Most intricate and most beautiful structures in mathematics

Google question: In a country in which people only want boys

What do higher Chow groups mean?

On starting graduate school and common pitfalls...

Problems where we can't make a canonical choice, solved by looking at all choices at once

How to explain to an engineer what algebraic geometry is?

Is metatheory, providing proof of the incompleteness theorem, consistent?

Examples of common false beliefs in mathematics

Other Homology Theories still Count Holes?

How is it that you can guess if one of a pair of random numbers is larger with probability > 1/2?

Are the rationals homeomorphic to any power of the rationals?