Not signed in (Sign In)

Vanilla 1.1.9 is a product of Lussumo. More Information: Documentation, Community Support.

Is this question acceptable?: Is this Theorem known?

Bottom of Page

1 to 5 of 5

  1.  
    • CommentAuthorMartin B.
    • CommentTimeDec 3rd 2010
     
    Assume I have proven a theorem and I want to know if it is known or even written up in the literature. Is it appropriate to ask that on MO?
    If not, what other methods do you use? I've already tried to use MathSciNet and talked to some people, without success.
  2.  

    I think that this kind of question is acceptable on MO. It is absolutely the sort of question that a research mathematician would like to ask to a ready-made community of other research mathematicians, so it seems in the spirit of the site.

    There is the point that it is hard to definitively answer "no" to such questions. But in this case the next best thing is to hear "no, I don't think so" from a leading expert, and MO can provide that.

    Moreover, reference requests seem to be completely kosher. Isn't this a kind of reference request?

    • CommentAuthorStorkle
    • CommentTimeDec 3rd 2010 edited
     

    Does "without success" in this context mean you've talked to people and the theorem you've proven is not known to them? Wouldn't that be success? Anyway, it's obviously appropriate to post such a question.

  4.  

    Yes, this is fine.

    There is a slight danger with these questions: they could potentially provide "cover" for self promotion that we'd feel uncomfortable about. Certainly if it's asked as "There's this result I need, and which I know how to prove, but I'd really prefer if I can just cite something." then it's certainly okay. I think on the whole it's safe enough to just blanket approve this genre and deal with problematic cases on their merits.

    • CommentAuthorWill Jagy
    • CommentTimeDec 3rd 2010
     
    Just make a decision ahead of time about how much you can afford to share and how much you intend to keep secret. What I have in mind is this question, which drove me absolutely nuts:

    http://mathoverflow.net/questions/12364/integer-subset-that-only-occupies-p-1-2-equivalence-classes-mod-p

    The OP never gave any detail, just kept saying that what people wrote was wrong. I was quite surprised to find out he has a Ph.D., all the signs pointed to an undergraduate keeping a big juicy secret close to his chest. I deleted my comments and my irrelevant answer.

1 to 5 of 5

  1.  
Back to Discussions Top of Page