Questions tagged [specific-question]

For discussions related to some particular question posted (or to be posted) on the main site. Do not use if your intention is to discuss/ask about a general issue, and you merely linked some question(s) as an example.

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Is there a way to discuss the correctness of the proof of the RH by Atiyah in MO?

I just made a question in MO to discuss the correctness of the proof provided by Prof. Atiyah for the Riemann hypothesis (link here: Is there an error in the pre print published by Atiyah with his ...
Héctor's user avatar
  • 515
48 votes
4 answers
3k views

On discussion of published papers at MO

There is an interesting discussion taking place at MO over the suitability of this question: Complex structure on $S^6$ gets published in Journ. Math. Phys. The question is about the correctness of a ...
Todd Trimble's user avatar
  • 52.3k
48 votes
1 answer
2k views

Why was the whole math jokes thread deleted, and should it have been?

[Topic very similar to several other recent questions, but the central question is I think not a duplicate.] The meta thread Should these sexually suggestive jokes be kept or deleted? raised the ...
Peter LeFanu Lumsdaine's user avatar
36 votes
3 answers
2k views

Welcoming new user: on a recent question about connections

I think that the history of this question about connections is unfortunate. I would like to discuss (respectfully, without throwing blame around) whether/how a better outcome might have been achieved....
Neil Strickland's user avatar
36 votes
1 answer
1k views

How is it off-topic to ask whether the normalization of a local complete intersection is Gorenstein?

This question (which I did not ask) is whether the normalization of a local complete intersection domain is Gorenstein. Why was this closed as "off-topic"? Especially when this one, which asks ...
Gro-Tsen's user avatar
  • 29.9k
28 votes
2 answers
1k views

Using MathOverflow to get new results in your research and publish them afterwards

So, MathOverflow is mainly used for posting research problems. Assume I have a research idea on which I want to write a paper. I developed it to some extent, but I am stuck somewhere and I post the ...
sdd's user avatar
  • 109
24 votes
2 answers
845 views

Kitty can’t fix it — Old questions inaccessible for logged-in users, giving “unexpected error”

For the past few days, any attempt to access the question Collecting proofs that finite multiplicative subgroups of fields are cyclic results in an internal server error: It seems the poor kitten ...
Emil Jeřábek's user avatar
23 votes
4 answers
2k views

Appropriateness of recent LIGO question for MO

There had been numerous comments under the question Recent observation of gravitational waves that discuss whether it is appropriate for MathOverflow. That discussion is properly a concern of MO meta, ...
Todd Trimble's user avatar
  • 52.3k
23 votes
1 answer
558 views

Drive-By Deletion of Answer to Own Question by Moderator

I'm a bit confused by some moderator action. I posted a question asking for a direct proof of a certain fact. A superb answer was provided by Jochen Glueck. (Thanks again!) I came across another proof ...
user24601's user avatar
  • 165
22 votes
3 answers
3k views

Question about $i$ versus $-i$

I vaguely recall that some years ago, there was an MO question about how to distinguish between the complex numbers $i$ and $-i$, and in what sense this might be meaningful. I also recall that I ...
Steven Landsburg's user avatar
22 votes
1 answer
1k views

One person creating multiple Riemann Hypothesis-related accounts

I have been flagging these posts individually, but I thought maybe a meta question would be a good follow-up, in case the moderators are not aware of the behaviour. As @YemonChoi points out, the ...
LSpice's user avatar
  • 11.3k
20 votes
2 answers
912 views

Questions on Coq

Now I'm awake again, I can raise this here in meta, as per quid's request. I commented on the question How do I verify the Coq proof of Feit-Thompson? I like this question, and would defend it ...
David Roberts's user avatar
  • 33.8k
20 votes
1 answer
1k views

Someone is trying to delete the Memorable Titles thread

There is currently a vote to delete this very old thread. I am writing to register my strong protest against this and bring it to the attention of other users here on meta. Most memorable titles
Harry Gindi's user avatar
  • 19.4k
19 votes
4 answers
1k views

Why was "The origin(s) of the word “elliptic” migrated to hsm?

This question on the history of the ellipse terminology was migrated to hsm after a week of being active on MO and receiving several useful answers. Did the OP ask for migration? Why are some ...
Michael Bächtold's user avatar
19 votes
1 answer
935 views

Is my question suitable for MO?

Around a month ago I asked a question on ME here. It was well received (got seven up votes). Sadly nobody was able to help much. To get more attention I also placed a bounty on it. Still no luck. The ...
PMaynard's user avatar
  • 211
17 votes
5 answers
4k views

Should these sexually suggestive jokes be kept or deleted?

There are a few jokes in "Do good math jokes exist?" that I think are inappropriate. Specifically: Nov 21 '09 at 9:01 item (1) Oct 19 '09 at 16:03 Dec 10 '09 at 23:14 Dec 15 '09 at 1:31 All of ...
Tanner Swett's user avatar
  • 1,133
17 votes
2 answers
772 views

Does anyone remember seeing this answer/comment? (A famous result known earlier than believed)

I remember seeing the following interesting exchange recently on MathOverflow: someone asked a question about something, another person ($X$) answered (or commented) that the answer is such-or-such ...
Gro-Tsen's user avatar
  • 29.9k
16 votes
5 answers
3k views

Why was there pushback on a user's profile image?

The comments on the OP for the following question are disconcerting: Why is Voevodsky's motivic homotopy theory 'the right' approach? From what I can gather, the OP must have had ...
Samantha Y's user avatar
16 votes
1 answer
1k views

On a question that was deleted recently.

I noticed that yesterday a question that received many upvotes (>40) and no downvotes, and which mathematically seems quite interesting was deleted by a Stack Exchange Moderator. I definitely don't ...
Lucia's user avatar
  • 43.3k
16 votes
0 answers
1k views

Can we please reopen the colorful language in mathematics question?

A long time ago, the question What are some examples of colorful language in serious mathematics papers? was closed because someone posted a copy of Spencer Bloch's review of Milne's Étale ...
Harry Gindi's user avatar
  • 19.4k
15 votes
3 answers
2k views

Should Kevin Buzzard's Lean question be left in its original state?

Kevin Buzzard asked this question, which incorporated a long section of background discussion. Federico Poloni removed that section. Yemon Choi commented that he thought the question was OK before ...
Neil Strickland's user avatar
15 votes
2 answers
790 views

Suggestions for the design of a font for math articles/books

Recently I've resumed work on a font I'm currently developing, meant to be released as a completely free, open-source, OFL-licensed font designed specifically for use in papers, theses, books, lecture ...
Emily's user avatar
  • 10.3k
15 votes
1 answer
830 views

Withdrawn question

I have just noticed that this question, which I have found quite exciting (and so have at least 14 other users who have voted for it) has been withdrawn by the OP. Is there any way to figure out the ...
Seva's user avatar
  • 22.8k
15 votes
0 answers
460 views

Question was deleted, I'd like to know the answer or contact the poster

This question (now deleted) asked for a way to compute generators for $I \cap \mathbb{Z}[z_1,\ldots,z_n]$ as an ideal of $\mathbb{Z}[z_1,\ldots,z_n]$, given generators $f_1,\ldots,f_m \in \mathbb{Z}[...
Gro-Tsen's user avatar
  • 29.9k
14 votes
1 answer
618 views

Using bounty to prevent a question from being closed

There is a recent question Which universities teach true infinitesimal calculus? , suitability of which has been questioned by several users [I personally do not see in this question anything related ...
R W's user avatar
  • 16.6k
13 votes
1 answer
997 views

Humans, Go, Computers, Math

This is the meta thread for What advantage humans have over computers in mathematics? It was closed, got reopened and reclosed, and reopened again. In an effort to close the barn before the horse ...
user avatar
13 votes
1 answer
396 views

What to do when the answer makes details of the question moot?

In this question I asked about a theorem in an old paper. I gave many details explaining the difficulty I was having in following the proof. The author of the paper kindly replied, pointing me to a ...
Neil Strickland's user avatar
13 votes
0 answers
522 views

Should this teaching question about Graph Theory be reopened?

Should What (fun) results in graph theory should undergraduates learn? be reopened? In the comments, Andrej Bauer suggests that it is should be moved to Math Educators Stack Exchange, while Fedor ...
Tony Huynh's user avatar
  • 31.5k
12 votes
2 answers
1k views

Should we reopen "The resolution of which conjecture/problem would-advance mathematics the most?"

The question is whether we should reopen it (link here). My point of view is that we should because a) It is asked by an intelligent and highly respected user. b) It hasn't generated a single ...
fedja's user avatar
  • 59.5k
12 votes
1 answer
1k views

Is this an appropriate MathOverflow question: can I ask for some intuition and "excitement" behind the Dynamical Mordell-Lang conjecture?

I am a math undergraduate at my local university, and I have decided to make it a habit to attend the weekly seminars that are given by the faculty. Today, the talk was on the Dynamic Mordell-Lang ...
bzm3r's user avatar
  • 398
12 votes
1 answer
528 views

Can I ask about entry-level questions (understanding and definitions) of research-level topics?

I am currently doing a reading on Teichmuller space and I am having trouble understanding some basic definitions. So I asked these two questions on MSE first: Understanding Teichmuller equivalence of ...
trisct's user avatar
  • 273
12 votes
0 answers
636 views

Is the following question on paper-writing etiquette appropriate for MO?

I'm wondering if it would be appropriate to ask a soft question on MO regarding mathematical etiquette. In more detail, I'm writing a paper that cites a well-known paper in my field, but I've been ...
Chuck Hague's user avatar
  • 3,627
11 votes
0 answers
544 views

Appropriateness of proposed question on applications of number theory in dynamical systems?

Update: the question has now been asked on the main site - Applications of number theory in dynamical systems I am considering asking a reference-request type question on MO about significant and/or ...
J W's user avatar
  • 748
11 votes
0 answers
591 views

Learn from my mistake

The question "What is the spin connection in 9 dimensions as opposed to 5 dimensions?" received two down votes. I would like to know what I can do to improve the quality of this question. Thank you ...
linuxfreebird's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
837 views

Moving back my question to MO

References on Gerbes question is migrated from MO to meta. It was never about MO. I was only giving information about search I have done. None of the comments except one has objection with this. None ...
Praphulla Koushik's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
466 views

Well-received but unanswered Math SE question; should I consider posting it here or requesting migration?

The Mathematics SE question Can there be an energetically unbounded three-body orbit where escape is impossible due to conservation of angular momentum? was well received and someone had graciously ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 143
10 votes
1 answer
530 views

High accuracy computation question on MO

Can I ask question which require very high accuracy calculation with very delicate nature on MO : Ex: calculate: $$S(q)=\int_{x=2}^q\sin^2\left(\frac{π\Gamma(x)}{2x}\right)dx$$ for $q=10^3$ or $10^...
bambi's user avatar
  • 375
10 votes
0 answers
566 views

Probability question migrated to stats.stackexchange

What has happened to the following question?: https://mathoverflow.net/posts/202242/revisions Firstly, it looks like a reasonable question to me (although the notation could be improved). Why was it ...
James Martin's user avatar
  • 3,787
10 votes
0 answers
588 views

On "How does the work of a pure mathematician impact society?"

The question How does the work of a pure mathematician impact society? was originally quickly closed, relatively quickly reopened, after a longer time closed again and has at the time of this edit a ...
user avatar
9 votes
3 answers
2k views

Why has the question "Optical methods for number theory?" been closed?

Edit: The MO question has now been reopened, and the two answers here that addressed it have been copied across. The question Optical methods for number theory? was put on hold. While answers are ...
user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
386 views

Appropriateness of question on delay differential equations

Would my question below, posted on Mathematics Stack Exchange in May 2015 and having received no answers, just a couple of upvotes, be appropriate in level for MO? I recognize that cross posting is ...
J W's user avatar
  • 748
9 votes
1 answer
273 views

Editing old question, can't submit as title is too long

I'm editing Is there a canonical map from the cohomology of orbifold Chiral de Rham on an orbifold to the cohomology of Chiral de Rham on a crepant resolution? as there was a broken arXiv Front link (...
David Roberts's user avatar
  • 33.8k
9 votes
0 answers
502 views

Questions on Mathematical Writing

Where should I ask about how to approach Mathematical paper writing? For example, the question [How to write an abstract for a math paper? ] was put on hold? Which stack exchange site should I have ...
Halbort's user avatar
  • 1,129
9 votes
0 answers
701 views

Why this is off-topic?

I posted a question on MSE for two months and received no helpful answer. So I tried the same question on MO. I got 4 off-topic votes and so the question got migrated back to MSE. I'd like to mention ...
Troy Woo's user avatar
  • 163
9 votes
0 answers
639 views

Why was the question about "expected difference of random variables" put on hold?

As I explained in the answer to the question The metric of the expected difference of random variables, I don't see any reason for closing it other than simple misunderstanding (to put it mildly) on ...
R W's user avatar
  • 16.6k
8 votes
3 answers
1k views

Acceptability of "Changes forced by the pandemic"

I refer to this question by André Henriques. It is nonstandard, and prima facie there is a clear case for closing it, and at the time of writing there is one vote to do that. However, I personally ...
Neil Strickland's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
486 views

Answer to what was an open question

I vaguely remember reading a question on main about a possibly "open question", which got an answer which started by affirming that the question is indeed open, and then proceeded to provide a ...
Willie Wong's user avatar
  • 37.4k
8 votes
1 answer
851 views

Why was "Is it meaningful to work on convergencies, integration, etc. on the Zariski topology?" closed?

This post is about the question Is it meaningful to work on convergencies, integration, etc. on the Zariski topology? It is an interesting, relevant question which attracted two excellent answers. The ...
Frank Thorne's user avatar
  • 7,199
8 votes
0 answers
234 views

Can we bring back the question about Gauss-Legendre nodes and weights?

The question Computing Gauss Legendre Quadrature for Large N was voluntarily removed by its author, after I implied (with a link to Wikipedia) that the answer was trivial and well-known. I have ...
David Ketcheson's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
471 views

Ignore this question no more

There is an odd question on the main site: Ignore this question* The question is no longer required to fulfill its purpose as stated in the body.† Perhaps it ought to be deleted outright. As it is ...
user642796's user avatar