Mathematics Stack Exchange
Mathematics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [soft-question]

For questions whose answers can't be objectively evaluated as correct or incorrect, but which are still relevant to this site. Please be specific about what you are after.

For questions whose answers cannot be objectively evaluated as correct or incorrect, but which are still relevant to mathematics.se.

12079 questions
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Logic of steps in proofs

Whenever I read a textbook or get help with a proof, I'm always suggested a very obscure and tricky step which usually helps me immediately solve the rest of the proof because everything else seems to becomes obvious after that one single trick. I…
mr eyeglasses
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Frequency computation

I generate pulses using microcontroller with following method: Set $A=0$ With frequency $F$ execute the following code: 2.1. Add $S$ to $A$ 2.2. If $A\ge N$ then produce a pulse and substract $N$ from $A$ Here $A, S, N\in \mathbb N$, and $S\le…
Canis Lupus
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Introduction to nests

I've just read Chapter 7 of Alice in Numberland by Baylis and Haggarty, it's called "Nests - in which the rationals give birth to the reals and the scene is set for arithmetic in $\mathbb{R}$". Unfortunately, I could follow barely any of this…
Elise
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Formal proof of famous theorem

I'm looking for a nice example of a formal proof of some well-known mathematical fact. I know about Mizar project, but I'd rather prefer something like this nice proof of $1+1=2$ which uses first-order logic. I'm also familiar with Metamath, it is…
sas
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Possible advantages and disadvantages of: Read entire section then attempt section exercises or attempt section exercises as you read small parts?

I am just curious as to the possible advantages and disadvantages to: Reading the entire section of a textbook then attempting section exercises as opposed to Read part of the section and attempt exercises pertaining to the part just read …
user5826
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Does memorizing a proof help to provide the intuition behind it?

To be clear, I'm $\bf{\text{not}}$ talking about rote memorization. If I can follow a proof, follow each step on its own, but still have trouble believing that the result is true. I usually try to work through it an additional 1 or more times,…
roo
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What's going on in Ito calculus?

I've been studying Ito calculus a lot recently, and there's a lot of introductory material on it but nothing too dense. Everything I've seen about it has been mainly for financial engineers. What about pure Ito calculus? What are the big open…
user141556
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Addition by subtraction: does this saying have any mathematical meaning?

I recently read an article that uses the phrase "addition by subtraction", the idea that value may be gained by losing something of negative value. While I doubt this has literal meaning in mathematics, does this idea have any relevance in…
rookie
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How can I study efficiently from a textbook that doesn't have answers?

My lecturer has informed us that tutorial questions will be insufficient, and has asked us to practice liberally from the textbook. Unfortunately, none of the exercises have answers supplied and I don't know enough people in the course to be able to…
Twilight Sparkle
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Study of polynomials and root approximation algorithms

I am currently beginning a long term investigation (I will have 6 months of time). I wish to better understand fundamental properties of polynomials and eventually come up with a good root finding algorithm. I really almost know nothing advanced…
Just_a_fool
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Limit notation convention

I've seen in different sources that there is a prevalent notation convention regarding to limits. If $f: X \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$ is a function and $x_0$ is an adherent point of $X$. It's very common to see that $\lim_{x\rightarrow x_0}f(x)=L$…
Jose Antonio
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Explanation of "without loss of generality"

I've been doing math for some time now, but I'm starting to get into serious proofs now that I'm taking analysis and such. I'm just confused with what it actually means? Does it infer that although we are showing a specific case, this holds for…
Faffi-doo
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Formula to calculate difference between two dates

I am working on getting date difference I have a formula to calculate it as follows $$365\cdot\mathrm{year} + \frac{\mathrm{year}}4 - \frac{\mathrm{year}}{100} + \frac{\mathrm{year}}{400} + \mathrm{date} + \frac{153\cdot \mathrm{month}+8}5$$ but its…
eatSleepCode
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What can I do after finish Fulton's book?

I'm sorry if this question sounds a little vague. I'm about to finish Fulton's algebraic curves book and I would like to know what's next. I'm looking for something deeper in algebraic curves. I'm a beginner in this subject and I'm felling a little…
user122342
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What kind of events are apt for a college-level MathFest?

I want to get some ideas for events which can be organized for undergraduate students in a university. I have organized a math treasure-hunt and some problem-solving events in the past but I want to do something new this time. I'm sorry if this…
Hyperbola
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