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I'm trying to write a paper where the proof requires some theorems. I can prove these theorems myself, but I don't know if they have already been proved, and if so I only need to quote them. Is there any alternative to reading more papers? Or there's nothing wrong with having theorems that have already been proven in a paper? I wasn't a math major, and the teachers couldn't guide me.

槿铃兔
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  • I'd suggest starting by Googling keywords contained in the maybe-theorems... but in the end, you will most likely end up trawling through the literature anyway. – H. sapiens rex Jan 26 '24 at 03:19
  • Mathematical maturation in your particular field, how: Read -- read -- read, no golden road as that old chap said. Good luck in your career! – A rural reader Jan 26 '24 at 03:56
  • There is nothing wrong with having theorems that are already proven in a paper. Some readers prefer self-contained papers and you do not have to claim that these are your theorems. – Kurt G. Jan 26 '24 at 10:21

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I’d say to definitely look through Google scholar, and also textbooks in the relevant fields depending on the level of the problems you’re working on. (If you’re not sure what the level of the problem is, that’s probably a sign that you need to learn more about the field from some textbooks).

I’ll also drop this link to some advice from Henry Cohn on writing papers as well, and how the publication process generally works. You might benefit from it, especially if you don’t have teachers who are able to guide you.

Aidan W. Murphy
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