Re:Examples of common false beliefs in mathematics
by samatman on Monday January 31, 2022 @10:53AM
(#30149349)
Here's the lens I use, hopefully it will help.
A terse equation or statement in mathematics represents what you will understand, the rest of the paper is to get you there.
Wanting to read the main equations and understand them, so as to use that knowledge reading the paper, is backward. If the main equation was ax^2+bx+c=0, you wouldn't need to read the paper, right? It's about the quadratic equation, it's aimed at primary students.
But that's how it works, we keep pounding away at the paper: taking notes, following references, thinking a lot about each of the definitions, then eventually, you look at the main equation and say "oh. ok. I know what this says now".
A terse equation or statement in mathematics represents what you will understand, the rest of the paper is to get you there.
Wanting to read the main equations and understand them, so as to use that knowledge reading the paper, is backward. If the main equation was ax^2+bx+c=0, you wouldn't need to read the paper, right? It's about the quadratic equation, it's aimed at primary students.
But that's how it works, we keep pounding away at the paper: taking notes, following references, thinking a lot about each of the definitions, then eventually, you look at the main equation and say "oh. ok. I know what this says now".