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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Classification systems for mathematics.

Mathematics is a very broad topic nowadays, and it seems to be coming more and more obscure. I was wondering as to whether any organisations have implemented a classification system or organisational schematic for the differing branches of…
user124862
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2 answers

Deciding which questions to do in a maths exam

I wasn't quite sure if this was the best place for this question. If faced with a maths exam where you can choose the questions you do, how do you approach which ones to pick? Difficulty (any particular parts which look hard)? Length of…
Brian
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When is proof by contradiction necessary?

Is there a way to test a given statement can't be proved directly? Thanks.
WhenItRains
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What are the best ways to prepare one's self for introductory classes in proofs, analysis, and modern algebra?

I'm a second-year college student, coming from a mathematical background that includes everything up to differential equations, linear algebra, and a survey discrete mathematics. How might I go about preparing myself for the standard undergraduate…
D. Zack Garza
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What Type of Question is this??

Question: "Express the volume of a sphere as a function of its surface area." I know how to do that type of questions, but is there a specific name for that type of questions?
Greg Dillon
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Computer Science in mathematical setting

I have come to like math better than coding. Maybe because I am a beginner in both coding and math, I prefer taking math proofs apart and playing around with them to seeing some trivial piece of code do some trivial thing. I'd like to explore the…
idontgetit
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What are equivalence classes that would not have (1+1 and 2 ) or (2 x 3 and 6) in same classes?

Are there any ordered equivalence classes that can be used to distinguish 1+1 and 2 , On one side there is an operation and on the other side just a single number. This becomes more obvious when dealing with factoring and multiplication , e.g. 17.19…
jimjim
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Shortest path to frontier

I am just finishing my second semester in Abstract Algebra, we covered most of Dummit Foote, and I found part v the intro to Algebraic Geometry interesting so was looking up "roadmaps" to research readiness and found this rather intimidating - Path…
Nar
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Plotting the origin

I remember my high school teacher telling me that when I graph a function, I should always plot the point $(0, 1) $, $(1, 0) $ and the origin, $(0, 0) $. Always graphing the first two makes perfect sense, but plotting the origin seems unnecessary. …
user132181
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does the p-adic shows the other end side of numbers? i.e, from right to left?

Reading this scientopia link i pondered whether p-adic shows the numbers from the other side (right to left from infinity's side)? For example the last digits the last digits of $\sqrt 2$ in 10-adics?
waqar ahmad
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What is the purpose of the Distributive law in this proof? (From Spivak)

So I'm reading Spivak Calculus and it makes sense. But, what I can't understand is, what is the purpose of the following: $$\begin{align}13\cdot4 &= (1\cdot10 + 3)\cdot4\\&= 1\cdot10\cdot4 + 3\cdot4\\&= 4\cdot10 + 12\\&= 4\cdot10 + 1\cdot10 + 2\\&=…
Sab ಠ_ಠ
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Should $\sum_{i=0}^n a + b$ be interpreted as $(\sum_{i=0}^n a) + b$ or $\sum_{i=0}^n (a + b)$

Should $\sum_{i=0}^n a + b$ be interpreted as $(\sum_{i=0}^n a) + b$ or $\sum_{i=0}^n (a + b)$ I often see the expression $\sum_{i=0}^n a + b$ in books and wonder whether we take the sum $(\sum_{i=0}^n a) + b$ or $\sum_{i=0}^n (a + b)$. Often I…
Shuzheng
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Techniques to write math equations less sloppily

I'm currently in a Calculus II and Analytic Geometry course at my college. The work I did below is incomplete and contains errors probably. The little bit of u-substitution I ignored because I forgot that was meant for integration (been doing math…
michaelsnowden
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Verifying chess moves

I am trying to verify whether moving a chess-piece is valid, where the moves are calculated in one dimension. Instead of identifying the squares on a chess-board as $\{\text{A}1, \text{B}1, \text{C}1, \dots\}$ they are identified as…
JohnWO
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Preparedness for a graduate course in Complex Analysis

I am entering graduate school next year without any background in Complex Analysis. I have, however, taken 2 semesters of Real Analysis and a reader course in Measure Theory (using Bartle's Elements of Integration and Lebesgue Measure). I can, of…
sac817
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