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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Is there a mathematically rigorous definition for "constructing" an object out of "constituent parts"?

My mathematical knowledge is limited, so I am wondering if mathematicians have come up with a theory for this kind of thing before.
Chidi
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Graph related confusion

I was working with some graph questions and came up with two variants of equations of the graph. Plotting those two equations give $2$ graphs which are almost same looking and nearly to overlap each other, is there any reason why that happens? I…
DEBAGHYA
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Typesetting $e$

Should the Euler constant (or exponential constant) $$e$$ be typeset in italics or non-italics (\text), per mathematical convention and also best practice for mathematical typography? See this.
Hypergeometricx
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Why can't I make proofs but can do statistical inference/applied probability problems and memorize proofs?

I struggle at proofs but can do statistical inference or actuarial probability problems like Hogg/Mckean/Casella/ODEs/Calculus because I find that the exercises are similar to the examples. In a proofs based class, I can't see how the problem I'm…
user707048
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Mathematically expressing the sum of odd and even numbers

I am aware that if I want to write the product of a function $2N^2$ starting with numbers from $1$ to $n$, I write something like this $\prod_{N=1}^{n} 2N^2$, what if I want $N$ to start from 1 and step through odd numbers or even numbers? How do I…
Abdulhameed
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Is Pre-Algebra on KhanAcademy good enough for Algebra?

Now, I learnt maths a long time ago, but I want to learn it again (kinda self-teach), mainly for computer science. I know quite a lot of arithmetic and basic geometry. I understand about exponents and logarithms. However, I would love to learn more…
Steve Woods
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Functional analysis as a prerequisite

Can someone give me an example of a mathematical field in which functional analysis is a prerequisite?!
Arbër Ll
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Harvard math 25 and 55 prerequisites

i'll be attending harvard next year (deferred entry) and am planning to use this year to study calculus and linear algebra in preparation for either math 25 or 55. (See here for the various courses: http://www.math.harvard.edu/pamphlets/beyond.html…
user45220
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Question regarding answer of applicability of pure mathematics

I'm a student wanting to write a report in something that has to do with mathematical knowledge. I came on this website on saw an answer by Stefan Hansen, which I would like to implement in my paper. Counting processes and martingales are objects I…
hariq
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The set of the roots of all polynomials in one variable with integer coefficients

Is the following set countable:: The set of the roots of all polynomials in one variable with integer coefficients. Please show the mapping between $N$ and the above set if the set is so I think it is not countable since for each positive integer…
Learnmore
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Discrete quantities and dimensions

This question popped into my head yesterday when my friend told me about a game which he claimed to be "$2.5$-d". Of course, I knew it was just an expression, since it wasn't really $2.5$-d; the camera sometimes rotated around the avatar, but the…
Edward Jiang
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Does difficulty in math tend to shift over to the actual concepts?

So far (calculus 1), the math concepts that I learned have been pretty easy, and the greater difficulty is usually in solving certain problems. However, as you go higher and higher do the concepts become more and more difficult to grasp in relation…
Ovi
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A soft question on contest recommendations

Could anyone tell me the level of the William Lowell Putnam contest and the International Mathematics Contest for University students with relation to National Olympiads + TST’s or even IMO? Which papers are they closely related to (mathematical…
A.Nag
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Contangent function (approximate)

Approximate value of the cotangent function we can find by the following formula, where $x$ represents the value of the semicircle minor arc angle $ \sqrt [90]{\frac{{\pi}}{4\sin\left(\frac{{\pi}}{4}\right)}}^\left(2x-90\right)\cdot…
Srbin
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Should equations and other mathematical expressions be written in quotes?

Should equations and other mathematical statements be written in quotes? Like $s=t$ and $s < t$, or like "$s=t$" and "$s
user107952
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