Mae Cotton Assignment 2
I focused on chapter 2 of the pdf, "Topics Specific to Mathetmatics" with a particular focus on the sections concerning the organization of a good paper, stating a theorem, and writing an abstract. As someone considering a further career in mathematics, the process of publishing a paper seems fairly arcane. Now that I know there is an entire book on the subject, let alone a library where other such resources might reside, I plan on digging in and really investigating this topic in my free time.
I found the section on writing abstracts of particular interest. While I conceptually knew what an abstract should be, I found that having it broken down was helpful. I also found the point that the majority of readers will never make it past the abstract important. The abstract functions similarly to how your hook in fiction would serve to get the reader interested and proceed further into what will likely be a dense forest of knowledge. I struggle to think of a single paper that I have read past the abstract because many are so dense and filled with technical jargon. Having read this chapter, I am now convinced that anyone with at least a high school education should be able to make it through the abstract and know what goal I have set out to accomplish in the paper.
The other section I found particularly enlightening was the section on organizing a paper. The author makes an excellent point that while our instinct as mathematicians is to lay out proofs in a cut and dry order, that is not how humans learn. By leaving the heavy lifting of the proof until the end of the paper, you both increase the chances that your paper will be read and even more importantly understood. Pursuing knowledge for the sake of knowledge has always been a pet peeve of mine and we as mathematicians should strive to be accessible to anyone interested in the study.
I found the section on writing abstracts of particular interest. While I conceptually knew what an abstract should be, I found that having it broken down was helpful. I also found the point that the majority of readers will never make it past the abstract important. The abstract functions similarly to how your hook in fiction would serve to get the reader interested and proceed further into what will likely be a dense forest of knowledge. I struggle to think of a single paper that I have read past the abstract because many are so dense and filled with technical jargon. Having read this chapter, I am now convinced that anyone with at least a high school education should be able to make it through the abstract and know what goal I have set out to accomplish in the paper.
The other section I found particularly enlightening was the section on organizing a paper. The author makes an excellent point that while our instinct as mathematicians is to lay out proofs in a cut and dry order, that is not how humans learn. By leaving the heavy lifting of the proof until the end of the paper, you both increase the chances that your paper will be read and even more importantly understood. Pursuing knowledge for the sake of knowledge has always been a pet peeve of mine and we as mathematicians should strive to be accessible to anyone interested in the study.
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