Math collaboration

Back to Math communication. Previous: Tim Gowers on mathematical collaboration

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

The process of learning and doing mathematics can be made more efficient using technology that allows students and researchers to collaborate.

Objections

You may object to this statement on several grounds:

1. Learning math is and will always be a private task. You have to spend a lot of time with a topic in math to really understand it, and nothing can change that.

2. People have been doing math for thousands of years without technology. And technology when used badly just gives you an illusion that you’re getting stuff done.

What’s out there

• Blogs

• Mathoverflow, stackexchange

• Selected papers network

• Arxiv (open-source!)

• Talking to people! You don’t need technology for that.

What could be out there

• People sharing notes and partial progress as a default. Focus on sharing partial progress.

• More focus on road-mapping, writing motivatione, etc. rather than rewriting

• Open-source notes

• Remixing rather than writing the same textbook over and over again