Re: Publication not so important in mathematics

From: Randy Poe (poespam-trap_at_yahoo.com)
Date: 03/18/05 

Date: 18 Mar 2005 08:37:27 -0800

jstevh@msn.com wrote:
> Michael J Hardy wrote:
> > The main purpose is to acquaint readers with the material.
> > A secondary purpose is that math faculty members are judged
> > in part by their publication records.
> >
>
> Which basically is saying that math people believe that it's all
about
> their needs and interests, and others are just outside of the
process.

Yes, just as a physics journal is only for the needs and
interests of physics, and people who don't care about
physics are "outside of the process".

And just as the local paper of Topeka, Kansas is only
for the needs and interests of residents of Topeka,
and people who live outside of Topeka are "outside
of the process".

> Here you mention publication of a math paper as mostly just a way to
> let people get acquainted with some material and also so faculty can
do
> the publish or perish thing.

Yes, writing is for the purpose of being read. Did you
think writing had an audience that was different from
its readership?

Why do you think an article is written in Sports Illustrated
or the New York Times? Do you think those articles
are written for some purpose other than "letting
people get acquainted with some material".

> But what about important mathematical results that come in from
outside
> of the usual academic circles?

If you want them to be read by people interested in
mathematics, typically you'd publish them in a place
read by people interested in mathematics.

If you want them read by people in Topeka, you'd
publish in a local Topeka newspaper or magazine.

Typically people with mathematics results, even
people from outside academia, want the former
rather than the latter audience.

> More importantly, the mathematics in my paper, aside from a few minor
> errors which I have acknowledged, was correct.

Well except for the errors you didn't acknowledge.

            - Randy

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