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02:35
\o @copper.hat
^wave at
👋
5 hours later...
03:36
Normal topological spaces is the worst book I ever had the displeasure of reading and learning from. How did this **** get peer reviewed.
jakobian: i mean.. did it? who's the publisher?
 
2 hours later…
05:37
has anyone seen this notation before? do u understand what the author is asking? math.stackexchange.com/q/5006925/1118236
it really wouldn't matter if i've seen the notation before, the OP should define it.
i have only guesses about what it might mean
N_X(P) should also be defined. i don't care if i can guess what it is
yeah and wtf is $O_{p'}(N_X(P)$ is that some kind of a orbit, from hell
it is reasonable to ask the OP to clarify this, as you have done in comments. i would vote to close in its current form as lacking context. even if "everybody knows" what those symbols mean (and guess what, they don't), the OP saying what they are and what they know about them is part of setting the stage for the problem.
in an ideal world the OP would even explain what a 'p-solvable group' is although this is getting to the level where if you are capable of answering the question you probably know already. the point is to relieve potential answerers of the burden of assuming that you know things that maybe you don't.
the last thing anyone wants to do is respond to a question like this and then get a response "wait, why is that true?" and it's buried in the definitions of one of the things OP assumed without comment.
cool, you got some definitions :)
 
6 hours later…
11:26
@leslietownes cambridge university press
 
3 hours later…
14:32
jakobian: you'd think someone did look at it, although maybe it was peer review of the form "i know these peers, they're great people"
did you see if it was positively reviewed when it came out
when it came out, I was 11
but if you mean to look at some old reviews then sure, maybe I'll dig something up
I'm actually surprised how modern is this book and it somehow starts to make sense how bad it is
no wait
the book is actually from 1974 and I didn't live yet
well if it had something even on mathematical reviews or one of the journals that published book reviews, that might be the first neutral view of the book
if their editorial process wasn't up to snuff in 1974
if it was close enough to current research at the time it's possible that nobody really looked through it critically
one of the profs on my thesis committee had a book where i'm convinced that nobody ever read it (including him)
this is a book that probably not many people have read it, yeah
you should submit a review of it to some journal
in celebration of its 50th anniversary
"This book is literal trash"
14:48
"i am in the smallest room of the house. i have this book in front of me. soon it will be behind me"
I'd probably say that on the surface it looks like a good reference, but one needs to be careful, the book isn't peer review and its riddled with errors. Its a bad reference but its good enough if you check whats written there
The exercises are horrible, they literally ask you to solve open problems, some of them need fixing (again, riddles with errors), on which you may or may not spent few hours
Or more depending on if you are lucky
The issue isn't even that the book is terse
It looks like the authors just half-assed the book
why bother putting exercises in something that is, or ought to be, a research monograph
I wouldn't recommend anyone without sufficient experience in general topology to read this book - you'll easily end up confused and believe in something that might be false
Leslie: What exactly is a research monograph, to be concrete
I understand the concept on a surface level, but I don't really know
I do actually like that it has exercises, there are things you can learn from them if you are someone like me, and you don't really know much about all the variations of normality-like properties
i mean it means whatever it means to people, as i was using the term i meant, some books are published not to provide students with something to learn from or work through, but to provide a kind of organized tour through relevant recent research
and maybe most of the value of the book is just giving people something to cite other than a string of papers
I don't think it would be as beneficial if I lived in 1974, but nowadays where I can (readily) check facts and information, the book is helpful and it actually does help me learn from other sources (it might not be the best place to learn, but it does give me incentive to research those things)
14:57
sounds like a rave review :)
don't get me wrong, the book is still bad, I wouldn't recommend it to learn from for any undergraduate in general topology
its just something that kind of works for me
and not for any gatekeeping kind of reason, but (sometimes, not always) you just need to have a lot of knowledge to be able to tell what is true and what is bullshit in this book
not always just pure knowledge, but also some kind of skill in reading books
I imagine I'm the second or third person that attempted to read this book
 
1 hour later…
16:33
@Jakobian Literally, a monograph is "one writing". It is a scholarly work that focuses on a single topic.
17:01
I think it fits the definition then
17:24
Let $F(x)-F(a)=\int_a^x f(t)\,dt$ where $f\in L^1([a,b],m)$. Is $F$ absolutely continuous then on $[a,b]$? What I can use is the following result;
> Result If $f\in L^1(m)$, then the function $F(x)=\int_{-\infty}^xf(t)\,dt$ is in $NBV$ and is absolutely continuous, and $f=F'$ a.e.
I'm thinking, if I extend $f$ to equal $0$ outside $[a,b]$, then we have $F(x)-F(a)=\int_{-\infty}^x f(t)\,dt$. However, this is not quite on the form $F(x)=\int_{-\infty}^xf(t)\,dt$. There's this silly constant $F(a)$ that bothers me. What can I do about it?
@psie $F$ here is a function $F:[a,b]\to\mathbb C$ and $-\infty<a<b<\infty$.
@XanderHenderson so a monograph his just a single picture of a graph
@LukasHeger Not in general, no. But it could be, if that picture were a scholarly work. Note that "graph" is, etymologically, about writing.
like lukas said, a single picture of a graph
17:42
@psie ok, something like this. Constant functions are clearly absolutely continuous (the definition is trivially satisfied). Also sums of absolutely continuous functions are absolutely continuous (this is a tiny bit more work). So $F(x)=F(a)+\int_{-\infty}^xf(t)\,dt$ is absolutely continuous. Bingo.
17:59
"Clearly".
@XanderHenderson I know you don't like it, but here clearly actually is clearly :)
it's so clearly as clearly can possible be
psie oen thing to keep in mind with all of this is definitions being in flux, e.g. whatever 'the definition' of absolute continuity is you can find some book where it's something else
as another example of that, something like follands theorem 3.5 is actually taken to be the definition of absolute continuity in some treatments
it generalizes to finitely additive measures in a way that folland's textbook definition doesn't
$\sum |F(x_{k+1})-F(x_k)| \leq \sum \int_{x_k}^{x_{k+1}} |f(x)|dx$
so as you navigate the details of all of these proofs, bear that enormous amount of flux in mind
ok, will do 👍
18:04
@psie Nothing is every "clear". And if it is clear, you don't gain anything by stating that it is clear.
at some point you're just evaluating folland's ability to write a flawless textbook and not so much learning analysis anymore
The sentence "Constant functions are absolutely continuous," is a million times better than "Constant functions are clearly absolutely continuous."
xander: would you say it is clearly better?
@leslietownes No. I would say it is better. :P
If you state that your windows are clear then they are either not clear, or you don't get anything from stating that they are clear
18:10
Personally, I would argue that the best phrasing would be something like "A constant function $f$ is absolutely continuous, as $\sum_k f(b_k) - f(a_k) = 0 < \delta$ for any collection of intervals $\{ (a_k, b_k) )$ and any $\delta > 0$."
Or something... I don't remember the definition off the top of my head.
Clearly to prove that constant functions are absolutely continuous, we need to prove that constant functions are absolutely continuous. As its clear that constant functions are absolutely continuous, we have shown that constant functions are (trivially) absolutely continuous
@XanderHenderson I am pretty sure they need to be disjoint, otherwise you end up with something different
the intervals
maybe it was that you end up with constant functions... hmm
@Jakobian I mean, adjust the phrasing to be correct. But in this case, it doesn't matter, as any collection of disjoint intervals is a collection of intervals.
That is, you lose nothing by adding the phrase "pairwise disjoint" between "collection of..." and "...intervals".
18:46
@XanderHenderson I disagree
@Thorgott For the love the babby jeebus, why?!
Do you believe that it is only ten thousand times better?
no, I prefer the latter
WHY?!
What are you adding by stating that something is "clear" or "obvious" or "trivial"?
discipline and humiliation
both statements claim a fact, but the latter phrasing communicates where that fact comes from ("clear" meaning that you can derive it from the definitions as an exercise)
18:48
don't people pay for that usually?
copper about that your last check, there's some problems with the bank
obvious = it has been proved by someone somewhere
@Thorgott I disagree. It doesn't immediately convey that it is a direct consequence of the definitions. It conveys that the author thinks that it is obvious or clear.
@leslietownes i just got a check from VSP that bounced
if I'm reading a paper and come across a statement that I haven't seen before, if it's said to be "clear", it signals to me "hey, think about this for a while and you will see it", but if there's no such designator, it could mean that, but it could also reference a "well-known" fact in the literature that I haven't seen yet
18:49
If everyone were as disciplined as you about using "clear" only to mean that it follows directly from the definitions, then I probably wouldn't have a problem with it. But many authors are not.
i think the term slightly clear would be better
And if it does follow immediately from the definitions, why not say so?
like partially pregnant
E.g. "It follows from the definition that constant functions are absolutely continuous"?
If that is what you mean, just say so.
cause "clearly" is shorter
mathematicians are lazy
18:50
@Thorgott But it doesn't convey the same meaning.
@Thorgott They are, and they should be broken of that habit.
in my experience, that's usually how it is used
@Thorgott Not in mine, and not in any consistent way.
perhaps not universally consistent, but "clear" communicates to me that I should be able to convince myself of the claim purely based on what the text has already given me
and that's a useful thing to have been communicated
If you really want to fetishize brevity, then the word "clearly" can always be cut.
it's all fun and games until Hormander says it's clear
18:52
And if clear communication is more important, you can add a couple of words to more exactly convey the meaning that "clearly" is supposed to convey.
cause when I'm reading a paper somewhat out of my depth, it's not always immediately clear (pun intended) if a statement that's just said is supposed to be "clear" or an incarnation of some well-known theorem that's being quoted implicitly
and I think such a distinction is pratically helpful
i think that its clear that clear is not clear. i think that was Wilde.
I don't disagree that you can be even clearer about what "clearly" means and that it would even be good if people did that, but I still think saying something is "clear" conveys more than just making a statement of fact without any additional information
I've heard the argument before, and I am not at all convinced by it. I don't believe that mathematicians are at all consistent about how they use words like "trivial", "clear", "obvious", etc. They are, as often as not, used to elide important details.
they aren't, but my perspective is that it's an instruction to the reader (sometimes it's a faulty instruction, but that's a separate issue)
when I'm reading math, nothing is more disorienting than a statement of fact that is not immediately followed up with an explanation/argument, a direct reference to another result or an indication that it is "clear"/"trivial"/etc.
18:56
@Thorgott Okay, but that's your perspective, which is not universal. Again, if these phrases were used in a universally consistent manner, they would not bother me. But they aren't, which makes words like "clearly" a trap.
@Thorgott I don't disagree, which is why I advocate for more explicit phrases than "clearly", e.g. "it follows from the definition that..." or "theorem 5.3 implies that..." or "it is an exercise to show that...".
yeah, I'm on board with wanting stuff to be more explicit, but I think "clearly", "trivial" and "fill the details in as an exercise" are practically synonymous
Yeah, I really don't. The first two are condescending, while the third actually tells you what you are meant to do.
But I also really don't vibe with the fetishization of terseness. It doesn't cost anything to add an extra three or four words.
Particularly if it adds clarity to the exposition.
i gotta agree with Xander here, much as it pains me to be agreeable
19:17
yes, I'm not arguing in favor of terseness, I'm arguing in favor of "clearly" being better than nothing at all (which is also an argument in favor of being less terse)
@copper.hat Are you feeling okay?
No one ever agrees with me!
:-) and today is a good day... had my lamb vindaloo last night
Yum!
I'm roasting a duck tonight.
i think brevity is a good thing but not at the expense of clarity
i love duck
bit of work though
@copper.hat I got mine from the grocery for \$3.50/lb. Not a lot of work---just toss it in the oven and roast it, covered, for an hour or two, then uncover it, crank the heat to crisp it up, and done.
Having a pre-packaged duck means I don't have to remove the feathers or innards or anything. Saves a lot of time.
19:22
nice! as Ted once said, my kitchen skills are assembly not cooking
I'm having polenta for dinner
@SineoftheTime Yum!
It's really nice when it's cold
How do you prepare it?
Is it cheesy? Full of broccoli? Or just all by itself?
19:26
I usually eat it with ragù, which is a meat sauce basically
@SineoftheTime Huh... I've never done it that way. Though my usual approach to polenta is probably more akin to what southerners call "grits".
What do mathematicians do when they are faced with a comment that is "above their head"
I mean online comment
@ModularMindset Dunno. I am very tall. Nothing is over my head!
Do you just say "I will have to circle back to you on that"?
Honestly, your question is too general to be answerable. But if I need an answer for something, then I am going to try to keep engaging until I understand what I need to understand. But I am also a specialist, and if I am asking a question, it will likely be of another specialist, and we will likely speak the same language. Thus the probability of it being "over my head" is unlikely.
"Outside of my field", on the other hand...
19:31
I am tall too
I am of fairly average height for an American male.
but I am not absurdly tall
i am 6'3 so pretty much avg
Average in the US for a man is about 5'9".
6'3" puts you in the top decile among American males.
And Americans are, on average, a bit taller than the global average.
So no, you are not "pretty much average" at 6'3".
nowhere 6'3'' is average
I am 5'11", which puts me within a standard deviation of the mean, but on the slightly-taller-than-average side.
19:37
@XanderHenderson we're the same height then, incredible
average dutch male is 6'
i'm shrinking
@copper.hat They grow them big there.
I guess i feel avg height
@copper.hat we're the same height then, incredible
indeed. my son is 6'3" which makes him the tallest on either side of our lineage. Irish are not known for their tallness
19:39
@ModularMindset You are not.
Last exam is finally done. I should probably spend some time grading this afternoon, but I think that I am going to go home and drink, instead. I'm so tired...
I wish I still had black hair
I'm...*looks up online converter to ridiculous units*...5'7''
@ModularMindset I've been waiting for my hair to go grey since I was in my 20s, but (1) I have been shaving my head for more than 20 years now, so no real hair there and (2) my father didn't start going grey until his mid 50s, so I've maybe got another 10 years to go.
On the other hand, I do find the occasional grey hair on my face. Particularly on my upper lip, just below my nose.
I had black hair but it turned to blonde and then darker blonde
I had black eyes too which i want back
now i have to settle with green eyes and blonde/brown hair
life's not fair though i guess
green eyes is like < 2% of the population
19:45
i am left handed too lol
i shouldn't exist
@ModularMindset simple... wear a toupee and eye contacts
What is really curious is how my eyes changed from black to green and my hair from black to blonde
wtf
Hi!
What are those types of books called where there are types of exercises where it says "prove that ... etc"?
@mo-_- Textbooks on mathematics?
yes
19:53
@mo-_- So we agree.
Seems like you have the answer to your question.
wait what
let me explain better
they are called graduated books
I don't think so
@mo-_- I've never heard that term.
...
...
Graduate Texts in Mathematics, by any chance?
proof type exercises?
19:56
@SineoftheTime yes
@BenSteffan If that is what they mean, then no. There are lots of textbooks in mathematics which have proofs as exercises.
Again, I would call these "textbooks in mathematics".
I mean what sine says
there is no specific label for such books
@XanderHenderson A fact of which I was certainly not aware :^)
excuse my poor attempt at exegesis
"Textbook" because they have exercises (non-textbooks don't typically have exercises), and "in mathematics" because the exercises involve proving things, which is what mathematics is all about.
19:58
@BenSteffan its just that someone had to say that
you need to explain exegesis
are you looking for books with these kind of exercises?
@copper.hat Exactly. It is just a description of what a textbook in mathematics is.
@SineoftheTime Yes
I think he means this
I'm certain mo does not mean that
@SineoftheTime mathematical analysis
did you try Tao for example
19:59
single variable?
yes, the one you know, just to check it
ops sorry @Binky
What
You can take a look at Kaczor Nowak for example
Nov 25 at 2:14, by Jakobian
> I must say that I've gained insights from this book that I did not get from any other text. Prof. Johar manages to deliver the perfect balance between rigor and eloquence, producing a text that is both enjoyable and rigorous, inspiring and exhaustive. The subjects are well concatenated, and I never felt lost due to the structure of the book (only due to the fact that it is a hard subject!).
Nov 25 at 2:15, by Jakobian
> With this book, I felt that you have all-in-one; you will not need to refer to another book for a long time. It really goes from numbers to measures. This one takes the crown in my analysis book collection
from someone who apparently looked at a lot of analysis books - of course everyone likes something different but yeah
20:03
thx
Yay i found an application for me work
Is linear algebra an allowed topic here?
yes of course!
No. Analysis and higher category theory only. :P
ask your linear algebra question - it promotes a healthy chat
20:08
@XanderHenderson don't tell Jakobian
Linear algebra is fine, but be prepared for all of the answers to involve canonical maps and diagram chases.
higher category theory?!
please god no
@ModularMindset please god yes
my level is low :(
@ModularMindset You don't have to call me g-d. "Xander" is fine!
20:09
we welcome all levels
seriously.
i might need time to warm up to HCT
speaking of higher category theory, anybody know an intrinsic proof that filtered colimits and finite limits in the $\infty$-category of spaces commute?
@XanderHenderson you might be a god relative to a mountain goat sure!
where 'intrinsic' means, uhh, not passing through model categories
in terms of just overall skills
maybe not in terms of agility climbing icy mountains tho
In the half a year I lived in Siberia, I only slipped on the ice once.
20:14
have you seen those goats do that? It's insane, powerful, inspiring etc.
@XanderHenderson that's actually impressive
$\lim_{n\to\infty} \sum^n_{k=0} \frac{(-1)^k}{k!} = \frac{1}{e}$
how can this be proved, using calc 1 tools?
What are your definitions?
definitions definitions definitions
$e = \lim_{n \to \infty} \left( 1 + \frac{1}{n} \right)^n.$
$e^x = \sum_{k=0}^\infty \frac{x^k}{k!}$
take $x = -1$
20:22
well, if you already know these definitions are consistent, there's nothing left to prove
That seems redundant...
For $x = -1$, this becomes:
$e^{-1} = \sum_{k=0}^\infty \frac{(-1)^k}{k!}$
But just take $x=-1$ in your second definition...
right
@XanderHenderson is it obvious now
20:24
@Jakobian I am so tempted to ban you... :P
I clearly leave this as an exercise that follows from the definition
is it obvious that it is obvious?
Xander is showing his orange hair side
20:47
Any complex measure $\mu$ can be written uniquely as $\mu=\mu_d+\mu_c$, where $d$ stands for discrete and $c$ for continuous. Furthermore it is claimed that $\mu$ can actually be written like this $$\mu=\mu_d+\mu_{ac}+\mu_{sc},$$ where $\mu_{ac}$ is absolutely continuous with respect to Lebesgue $m$ and $\mu_{sc}$ is mutually singular with Lebesgue measure. It is being said this follows from Theorem 3.22 above. How?
I understand why we can write $\mu=\mu_d+\mu_c$, but not why $\mu=\mu_d+\mu_{ac}+\mu_{sc}$.
what has that to do with the picture?
I'm wondering the same :)
A measure $\mu$ is said to be continuous if $\mu(\{x\})=0$ for all $x\in\mathbb R^n$. It's discrete if there's a countable set $\bigcup_1^\infty \{x_j\}$ and complex numbers $c_j$ such that $\sum |c_j|<\infty$ and $\mu=\sum c_j\delta_{x_j}$, where $\delta_x$ is the point mass at $x$.
@psie Look at the decomposition of $\nu$ in the theorem. What are $\lambda$ and $f\,\mathrm{d}m$?
@XanderHenderson that's what I'm suspecting. I'm assuming $\mu_{ac}=f\,dm$ and $\mu_{sc}=\lambda$.
Don't just assume. What are those measures?
You might need to go back and look at the Radon-Nikodym theorem, in which they are introduced.
20:54
Ok, will do. Thanks.
21:19
Hrm... I have no lemons. Drat.
21:30
A follow-up question; let $\sigma=\sigma_{n-1}$ be the surface measure on the unit sphere $S^{n-1}\subset\mathbb R^n$ that is defined through $\sigma(E)=n\cdot m(E_1)$, where $E$ is a Borel subset of $S^{n-1}$ and $E_1=\{rx':0<r\leq 1,x'\in E\}$ (here $m$ is Lebesgue measure). Is this measure continuous and mutually singular with respect to Lebesgue measure?
Attempt; if we take $\{x\}\subset S^{n-1}$, then I think $E_1$ is just...what? A line? If so, it has Lebesgue measure $0$. For the mutual singularity part, I don't know what set to choose such that $m(B)=\sigma(B^c)=0$.
@psie There is a useful comment at the top of page 91.
Indeed 👍 that's useful in regards to why we can decompose $\mu_c$ into $\mu_{ac},\mu_{sc}$
@psie be careful there, $\sigma$ is a measure on $S_{n-1}$, $m$ a measure on $\mathbb{R}^n$.
@copper.hat that's right, can we even speak of mutual singularity for those two?
of course, $n>1$
no
i'm not sure where you are going with that?
21:44
@XanderHenderson yeah just saying "clearly" is not enough. I prefer phrases like: "As is immediately apparent to even the most casual observer, constant functions are absolutely continuous"
@LukasHeger You should be happy that I have no desire to abuse my powers...
Though you are making it hard.
"If it's not clear that constant functions are absolutely continuous, you should consider studying a different book"
22:03
Turns out that the triviality of the following theorem is non-trivial...
22:26
"If it is not obvious to the reader that $x^n + y^n = z^n$ admits no positive integer solutions for $n > 2$ then we urge them to reconsider their choice of career path"
i can prove it, but there is not enough room on my terabyte drive to contain the result.
@psie perhaps he means the measure $A \mapsto \sigma (A \cap S^{n-1})$?
this sort of looseness in a teaching text bothers me. in an otherwise delightful book.
@copper.hat yeah, it can be frustrating. But what is the difference between $A \mapsto \sigma (A \cap S^{n-1})$ and $\sigma(E)=n\cdot m(E_1)$ where $E\subset S^{n-1}$?
I think I will be happy if we only manage to show mutual singularity :)
Well, $\sigma$ is defined on subsets of $S^{n-1}$, the map I wrote is defined on Borel subsets of $\mathbb{R}^n$.
ah ok
22:47
these are rather captious things but are very unsettling when learning
@copper.hat An otherwise delightful book?!
Are you high?
I mean, I get that recreational weed is legal in Cali, but maybe moderate it a bit?
:P
23:07
@XanderHenderson i like Folland :-)
never had any recreational drug other than alcohol.
oh, and morphine, but not in a recreational context.
and it scared the hell out of me, and ended up causing more pain that the pain it was supposed to relieve.
@LukasHeger I saw this on MO Once, but I'm a big fan of "It is hard not to show that..."
On a tangential note, Ravenel remarks for some proof in the green book that "it's so easy we cannot resist giving it"
@BenSteffan Actually, one of my professors once told a student he should reconsider the choice of career path
bro messed up an exercises on the order of the element in a group
23:21
@psie are you comfortable proving that the Lebesgue measure of $S^{n-1}\subset \mathbb{R}^n$ is zero?
@copper.hat actually, not so much. How would you go about it?
$S^{n-1} = \bar{B}(0,1) \setminus B(0,1)$ is probably the easiest way.
@copper.hat remember the polar integration formula we discussed some weeks ago? I think it can also follow from that. Namely $$\int_{\mathbb R^n}f(x)\,dx=\int_0^\infty\int_{S^{n-1}}f(rx')r^{n-1}\,d\sigma(x')dr.$$
well, that is more complicated if you like.
yeah, probably, we need to choose $f=\chi_{S^{n-1}}$, but it would involve some simplifications
23:30
I love the co-area formula, it's so cool
@psie Note that $m B(0,r) = r^n B(0,1)$ and $B(0,1) \subset \bar{B}(0,1) \subset B(0,r)$ for all $r>1$. Taking limits of nested sets shows that $m B(0,1) = m \bar{B}(0,1)$.
i learn something new every day, co-area.
@psie as a general rule, i would suggest, in general, look first for the simplest solution.
good rule 👍
pie
pie
Did they add a new line under "hot meta posts" and "featured on meta"?
That new line make it seem less organised ngl
huh, you're right
looks terrible
yeah I've noticed that
plus the ads are annoying
23:40
must be some accident code somewhere
you don't have an adblocker, in the year 2024 a.d.?
I need to renew the antivirus and then put the adblocker
There are some bugs. SE staff are aware.
thanks @copper.hat. When you say $A=S^{n-1}$ for mutual singularity, you have the measure $A\mapsto\sigma(A\cap S^{n-1})$ in mind, right?
pie
pie
@SineoftheTime What ads?
23:50
See here for example
-80 score, lol
pie
pie
I saw that post, but I have never seen an ad on MSE and I don't use ad blocker

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