tea.mathoverflow.net - Discussion Feed (Could a few Moderators please remove one of my questions?)

Will Jagy comments on "Could a few Moderators please remove one of my questions?" (11547)

Will Jagy — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 20:36:29 -0800

Good. Seems the correct direction to go.

Wadim Zudilin comments on "Could a few Moderators please remove one of my questions?" (11546)

Wadim Zudilin — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 20:35:13 -0800

I added a single sum formula to my answer which hopefully provides "more evidence" of why no closed form exists.

Will Jagy comments on "Could a few Moderators please remove one of my questions?" (11545)

Will Jagy — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 20:05:52 -0800

Hi, Wadim. That's what I was thinking, a closed question is still visible. Well, if no more votes to close happen it stays open.

Wadim Zudilin comments on "Could a few Moderators please remove one of my questions?" (11544)

Wadim Zudilin — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 20:02:58 -0800

Yes, I got fooled because of so many answers and edits around. But I don't think I don't like that! Even the problem isn't of interest to Max, it doesn't mean it's a bad problem. It was a little bit of scandal when it was asked, but there is no reason to make "much ado about nothing" right now. I think that the answers could serve as perfect links for related questions in the future. Don't forget that even the question is closed, it remains.

Will Jagy comments on "Could a few Moderators please remove one of my questions?" (11542)

Will Jagy — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 18:38:46 -0800

I put in a little warning in the front to look at this thread first. I'm sorry Wadim got fooled, if that is what happened, he doesn't like that. I think closing the question would be a good idea, so I will put a vote to do that and see what happens. I think there is a choice for "irrelevant" but it does not really matter.

Yes, there is a choice "no longer relevant.'

Will Jagy comments on "Could a few Moderators please remove one of my questions?" (11536)

Will Jagy — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 15:10:25 -0800

Alright, I will take a look.

Harald Hanche-Olsen comments on "Could a few Moderators please remove one of my questions?" (11535)

Harald Hanche-Olsen — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 15:09:34 -0800

Will: Sure, but I am sort of buried in (non-research, argh!) work right now, so go right ahead.

Will Jagy comments on "Could a few Moderators please remove one of my questions?" (11491)

Will Jagy — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 11:26:24 -0800

Harald, maybe one of us should just do the final editing based on impressions in this thread and what we know readers would want to see. I do such things, I usually put them at the end of a question and write

EDIT: Will Jagy

and sometimes I put in the date as well. Then I type in whatever I think is needed. I have not looked, but evidently you fixed the series a little.

Harald Hanche-Olsen comments on "Could a few Moderators please remove one of my questions?" (11490)

Harald Hanche-Olsen — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 11:03:30 -0800

But they should not be so heavily edited that the answers no more make sense in the context!

Andrew Stacey comments on "Could a few Moderators please remove one of my questions?" (11489)

Andrew Stacey — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 10:24:50 -0800

I would simply add that the questions should be updated to reflect your current state of interest in them, just so that someone who happens across them is clear.

François Brunault comments on "Could a few Moderators please remove one of my questions?" (11484)

François Brunault — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 08:44:35 -0800

I can add that mathematics is not only the art of answering questions, but also the art of raising good (and sometimes difficult) questions.
So, even if you don't feel the need for an answer, it can still reveal something interesting, and other people may be very interested.

François Brunault comments on "Could a few Moderators please remove one of my questions?" (11483)

François Brunault — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 08:31:30 -0800

@Maxmuller1000 : I think this MO question is interesting (even if it arose from a mistake, according to what you say). So my opinion is that it shouldn't be deleted.

Moreover, not defining formally the general term of the series isn't really a problem to me. The explanation with words was clear, and I could figure out clearly the meaning of the series (although my first impression of the series being "easy" was false...).

maxmuller100 comments on "Could a few Moderators please remove one of my questions?" (11415)

maxmuller100 — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 12:35:44 -0800

@ Harald: thank you!

maxmuller100 comments on "Could a few Moderators please remove one of my questions?" (11414)

maxmuller100 — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 12:29:13 -0800

@ Mariano: yeah I can imagine one may find it a bit strange/funny... I can tell you the story behind it:

As I'm a senior in high-school, I had to make a "final project" on a subject of interest to me. After thinking about a suitable subject for quite a long time
I chose mathematics. I decided write my project on "values of the Rieman-zeta function at integer arguments". I was mainly focussed on trying to find
nice closed-form representations of the RZ-function for the values at odd integer arguments, zeta(3) in particular.

As I was triggered by Dunham's book to be interested in mathematics in the first place, I tried to "extend" the methods developed by Euler (as his methods
were described in the book) by trying to play around with the different terms that make up the infinite product of f(x)=sin(x)/x . The terms were of the form
(1-x^2/n^2*pi^2) , as you probably know. So I tried to break this term apart into (1-x/n*pi) and (1+x/n*pi). (Unfortunately, I only found out this was impossible
after Helge's answer on an other question on MO of mine). Then I tried to put some terms together, of which I wanted to find out the value. I put the
terms with n = +/- 1, +4/-2, +9/-3, ... , +n^2/-n together. These terms would 'make up' Apery's Constant. According to this method, I only needed to find the value
generated by sum series that arose from the 'left-over' terms, which were: 2/3, 5/6, 7/8, 10/11, ... , (general term?!). Of course I know this can not be done, but I think it's pretty funny that a pretty hard-to-answer question arose from making such a mistake. Describing the general term alone is already quite tough...

So here we are, trying to find the general term of a series that does not have an application I can think of :) .

Harald Hanche-Olsen comments on "Could a few Moderators please remove one of my questions?" (11413)

Harald Hanche-Olsen — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 12:19:53 -0800

I added a formula, not for the general term of the sum, but instead expressing the sum as a double sum, the inner sum being over the gap between consecutive terms. I think it's about the best that can be done. I did not finish the cleanup, though. Seeing as the question is already CW, another dozen edits probably does no harm.

Mariano comments on "Could a few Moderators please remove one of my questions?" (11411)

Mariano — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 12:05:44 -0800

I had forgotten about it. I still find it amusing that one may want to know the sum of a series for which one cannot write down the general term :)

maxmuller100 comments on "Could a few Moderators please remove one of my questions?" (11408)

maxmuller100 — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 11:34:02 -0800

@ Anton: yes that's the one.

Anton Geraschenko comments on "Could a few Moderators please remove one of my questions?" (11407)

Anton Geraschenko — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 11:32:42 -0800

Just so that we're all on the same page, is this the question? http://mathoverflow.net/questions/26035/evaluation-of-the-following-series-s-1-2-times3-1-5-times6-1-7-tim

maxmuller100 comments on "Could a few Moderators please remove one of my questions?" (11403)

maxmuller100 — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 11:17:13 -0800

Wait I've got an idea... I think I would be much more content with the question if someone could help me with trying to figure out how to state the general term
of the series. If someone has any ideas on this, please let me know!

WillieWong comments on "Could a few Moderators please remove one of my questions?" (11397)

WillieWong — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 09:07:29 -0800

@Max: if you want moderator action, the easiest way is to use the "flag" button at the bottom of your question to get the moderator's attention.

If you just want the question to be closed so it doesn't keep popping up to the front page, please post a link to the question in question so a few of us can vote to close it.

Edit: Also, I just checked the current list of your questions, none of the currently open ones is without an answer with at least 4 votes, which should mean that it passes (by flying colours) the threshold for the software to not auto-bump the question. So if it re-appears on the front page, it is most certainly because someone else dug it up and provided a new answer or edited an old one.

Will Jagy comments on "Could a few Moderators please remove one of my questions?" (11395)

Will Jagy — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 08:33:20 -0800

You should wait for opinions on whether deletion is regarded as a good idea, but i am pretty sure you can delete it yourself. The arguments against that that i remember have something to do with the feelings of the people who did put in some effort and got some upvotes.

maxmuller100 comments on "Could a few Moderators please remove one of my questions?" (11394)

maxmuller100 — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 08:19:48 -0800

There's one question in which I ask what the value of some strange infinite sumseries is. I do not know how to express the general term of the series, which is why the question looks a bit strange and chaotic... I'm no longer very interested in its answer, since I learned that the infinite product of $(1-\frac{x^2}{n^2 \cdot pi^2}$ can not be split up into two other infinite products I've mentioned in an other question.

The question about the infite series keeps popping up and people try to answer it while it's not very clear what the question is, which leads to more comments and wrong answers. These people have essentially put effort in answering a question that is not of great interest to me anymore. If some of you still want to keep the question open because you think it is interesting or at least want to be able to go to from the homepage, then it's all right with me. In that case, the question doesn't need to be closed.

I hope you understand,

Max