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Kimball

 Discussion on question by BiriBora: M…

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Kimball
Oct 21, 2024 02:00
@Flyto Even so, it sounds like the procedure by which the OP obtained access to the letter is not above board.
 

 Discussion on answer by Dan Romik: In…

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Kimball
Feb 20, 2024 03:41
Those saying it's easy simply do not understand what a typical day - They also may not understand the sheer volume of applications that come in. (Well, maybe there is an easy way to message all candidates from mathjobs, but I am not aware of it.)
 

 Discussion on question by m123: How t…

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Kimball
Aug 4, 2023 21:37
Can you see the authors' names and affiliations? Have they published previously in reputable journals?
 

 Discussion on answer by usr1234567: S…

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Kimball
Jan 12, 2023 16:59
Sure if it's appropriate, but why bring up Noether or Turing in a calculus class? Also, this doesn't directly answer the question.
 

 Discussion on question by G. Gare: Sc…

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Kimball
Jul 20, 2022 14:42
Where do you draw the line with actions? "This paper contains..." "The above calculation proves..." I think this is standard English usage.
 

 Discussion on question by hanugm: As …

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Kimball
Apr 30, 2022 07:32
Am I the only one that has existential worries about all of these answers? I am not convinced that any of these students know what a "set" is or what "finite" means.
 

 Discussion on answer by cag51: Is it …

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Kimball
Apr 15, 2022 08:25
@laolux sure, but in that case I don't think it's standard to only grade a subset of the problems. in my experience, this tends to happen for larger lower-level classes where there are assignments every week.
 

 Discussion on question by Ran: What s…

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Kimball
Mar 27, 2022 19:19
@Tristan Do such people eschew the use of 1st-person pronouns and dislike being addressed with 2nd-person pronouns? Or is it just the 3rd-person?
 

 Discussion on question by Mike Ainsel…

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Kimball
Nov 29, 2021 19:16
I am pretty sure this question has been asked before here.
 

 Discussion on question by Ted: Admit …

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Kimball
Nov 4, 2021 20:51
One thing you can do: take this as motivation to prepare more to mitigate future mistakes.
 

 Discussion on question by Anders Gust…

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Kimball
Oct 5, 2021 13:28
@paulgarrett I remember reading a paper and for a long time not being able how to figure out how something made sense. Eventually I realized that $\phi$ and $\varphi$ (which I of course both read in my mind as "phi") were being used for different things, and I could imagine a similar confusion here.
 

 Discussion on question by JEs9X: How …

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Kimball
Sep 28, 2021 16:16
@Prof.SantaClaus Yitang Zhang published his big result in the Annals of Mathematics, the top math journal. Perhaps you are thinking of Perelman, who already was an established mathematician. I don't think there's any benefit to gain by comparing the OP with either of these mathematicians.
 

 Discussion on answer by Buffy: How is…

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Kimball
Jul 7, 2021 19:31
I'll also note that someone who has done important work early on can become a crank later in life. The opposite is also true. - I certainly know examples of the former, but don't know about the latter. Have you seen this happen?
 

 Discussion on question by Michael Sta…

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Kimball
May 3, 2021 16:58
@AliceRyhl In online classes, I don't think it's other students reporting cheating most of the time, but mainly that instructors/graders find it on their own (which is not to say I think the OP's proposal is a good idea).
 

 Discussion on question by High GPA: P…

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Kimball
Apr 12, 2021 14:47
As to whether such contributions merit coauthorship: academia.stackexchange.com/q/73480/19607
 

 Discussion on question by Procyonic: …

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Kimball
Apr 3, 2021 03:39
it seems inappropriate to question about whether if a death has actually occurred - Why does this seem inappropriate? The student brought it up, and if you generally require evidence for extenuating circumstances, it is reasonable to ask for it here. Of course one should try to be sensitive in how one communicates this...
 

 Discussion on question by user133651:…

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Kimball
Jan 8, 2021 02:40
As @Clockwork said, this could very well be a cultural thing. Do they congratulate other each other or other people?
 

 Discussion on question by Ralff: Is s…

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Kimball
Jan 3, 2021 12:40
The first example is a little weird but basically okay. The second is perfectly normal. The third is also fine, though slightly more awkward than the more direct: Denote the set of real numbers by R.
 

 Discussion on answer by Andreas Blass…

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Kimball
Dec 30, 2020 12:34
@fgrieu I'm not sure I see the distinction between "new directions without apparent practical applications" and "new way to encrypt digitized image". I certainly agree that there are many papers without merit, but the general notion of considering a new approach to a "solved problem" is not meritless. Are there researchers at top institutions writing papers on this subject? If so, do you feel the same way about their papers?
 

 Discussion on answer by user2768: Is …

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Kimball
Dec 10, 2020 17:36
@user2768 Perhaps the issue was I didn't understand what you meant by the phrase "scientific basis," and I think your usage is confusing. If I have a logical argument that something is true, or someone I trust tells me they have a proof, I think it's fair to say there's a "scientific basis" for believing that statement even if it hasn't been published. FYI folklore results may or may not be mentioned explicitly in the literature.
Kimball
Dec 10, 2020 17:36
@Matt The OP already said what they meant by folklore in the question.
Kimball
Dec 10, 2020 17:36
Folklore has no scientific basis. What? I don't understand this statement.
 

 Discussion on answer by Graham: How c…

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Kimball
Sep 21, 2020 19:28
It would perhaps be ideal to have only practically experienced engineers teach mathematics to prospective engineers - This would be educational inbreeding, and potentially lead to a gradual watering down of mathematical understanding over generations.
 

 Discussion on answer by jcaron: Cashl…

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Kimball
Mar 11, 2020 17:37
FYI Tipping valets is standard. And I would say, for hotels, more universal than tipping bellhops (which many hotels don't have) is tipping housekeeping.
 

 Discussion on question by aparente001…

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Kimball
Feb 29, 2020 05:11
To get a better barometer of the situation, you can try talking to other students to see both what they expected and how they feel about it. Then if it does seem to be a problem several students could bring this up in the course evaluations, say.
 

 Discussion on answer by Priska: Is th…

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Kimball
Nov 28, 2019 12:33
I am an number theorist, and am not convinced that a disproof of RH would really be that damaging. Sure, most people expect it to be true, and there are a lot of theorems of the form that "RH implies X" but RH isn't really that important in terms of applications. Knowing RH is false (or even independent of ZFC) would just mean that there is something even more interesting going on with the distribution of primes than what we already know.
 

 Discussion on question by PsySp: Is i…

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Kimball
Nov 19, 2019 19:22
I don't know how Outlook agendas work, but is it possible for you to make an "official" one for work and a "personal" one, and just share the official one (which possibly you don't need to use at all, or just include a minimal amount of information---lecture times, office hours)?
 

 Discussion on answer by Jesko Hüttenh…

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Kimball
Oct 28, 2019 05:53
@Priska Partially. The sheer amount of background required is a big obstacle. But I think the Langlands program is rather unique for its combination of its breadth and depth and technical complexity. I believe some parts of math are harder than others (and that which parts are harder depends to some extent on the person), and that many aspects of the Langlands program---due to their depth and technical complexity---are among the hardest areas of math.
Kimball
Oct 28, 2019 05:53
@JeskoHüttenhain - I also think we're generally in agreement, but I wanted to avoid your comments being interpreted as saying this is something only a very few are capable of understanding, and the sentiment in the MO question I linked to. Mathematics has a sort of stigma that it's only for those genetically inclined. I think a large fraction of the population, given significant time and interest (possibly more than the standard PhD curriculum), could understand a substantial portion of the Langlands program, and this goes for any area of math.
Kimball
Oct 28, 2019 05:53
It's a matter of degree, not a binary thing where only a very few can understand/participate in the field. I'm reminded of Kronecker's quote "When kings are building, carters have work to do".
Kimball
Oct 28, 2019 05:53
I am a mathematician working in the Langlands Program and I disagree with a couple parts of this answer. First, I definitely don't want to see the Langlands Program butchered in some novel, which is not necessarily what would happen, but tends to happen with such stories. Second, I strongly disagree with the statement that "only very few, extremely talented mathematicians being able to make contributions." The Langlands Program is vast, and most mathematicians working in this area contribute small bits which add up, and gradually understand more and more of the area.
 

 Discussion on question by user000001:…

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Kimball
Oct 7, 2019 21:47
I was in the evaluation committee for the adjunct lecturers this year, and it was a complete nightmare. There were over thirty candidates - That is hardly anything, unless by over thirty you mean 500. And why do you care about citation data for adjunct lecturers?
 

 Discussion on question by electrique:…

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Kimball
Sep 30, 2019 16:15
@electrique Some students are uncomfortable seeing their teachers (clothed) at the supermarket. That said, I understand your thinking, and venture that if there are no university/gym guidelines about this (as this must be a fairly common situation) then there are no perceived serious issues. (Anyone can avoid using the showers/locker room if they wish.)
 

 Discussion on answer by user108384: W…

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Kimball
May 7, 2019 16:45
@DmitrySavostyanov For (external) grants and promotions, one has expert opinions to rely on (though the grant panel or recommendation letters).
 

 Discussion on question by Monroe Eske…

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Kimball
Apr 28, 2019 16:18
@fedja I completely agree with the first part of your comment, but I think that such attitudes are quite prevalent within mathematics as well. A lot of mathematicians think that the kind of math they do (or are at least familiar with) is the most interesting. For instance, if you are a job candidate in logic for a department with no logic, then it is hard to generate interest unless you are proving things in areas other people there are working in.
 

 Discussion on answer by Run like hell…

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Kimball
Feb 4, 2019 07:16
-1 hiring the best people, regardless of their gender - While I agree with this sentiment, there are many roles of a faculty member, and when there is a large gender imbalance, the gender of one candidate can put them in a better position to do things like serve as a role model and mentor to female students. Who is to say what is best? Gender aside, it's hard to decide who are the "best" candidates.
 

 Discussion on question by Simon: How …

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Kimball
Jan 30, 2019 21:18
Right now, I think "to appear" or "accepted" is the most accurate description. Incidentally: what was their last printed issue? did you submit in 2016 or earlier?
 

 Discussion on answer by Dmitry Savost…

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Kimball
Nov 22, 2018 16:32
+1 in general, but I'm not sure I agree about making the name of the journal known here. If it's a respectable journal, the issue is likely with the editor and maybe the appropriate thing to do would be to discuss this privately with the editor-in-chief.
 

 Discussion on question by LilyOfTheEa…

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Kimball
Oct 19, 2018 20:13
Note: I'm not trying to suggest that this is all in your mind---I do believe you are receiving some unwanted attention, but sometimes it's difficult to assess what exactly is intentional.
Kimball
Oct 19, 2018 20:13
but I can assure you that I am not crazy when I say this. I have other better examples that I'm not able to share - I don't know what your better examples are, but based on the examples you do give, it could be partly a file drawer problem (e.g., I notice when people wear similar T-shirts to mine) or seeing you where certain clothes may be a subconsious reminder to others to break their old orange tweed jacket.
 

 Discussion on question by qazed1234: …

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Kimball
Sep 25, 2018 06:59
@Clément I don't know about what's common in the UK, or in other fields, but in math in the US, I would rarely even Google our PhD applicants.
 

 Discussion on question by Kaito Kid: …

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Kimball
Sep 7, 2018 21:11
Being a known felon is not always (very rarely?) a choice. One could also argue that being an asshole, or a flat earther, is not entirely an individual choice either (we are all shaped by our environment).
 

 Discussion on question by nilāmbara:…

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Kimball
Aug 3, 2018 18:40
@50k4 After Please also note, that a person can change his or her name my initial thought was that you were going to point out the possibility they legally changed their one of their names to "PhD".
 

 Discussion on question by New_User: W…

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Kimball
Feb 13, 2018 17:42
I think the truth is not really so bleak: e.g., see academia.stackexchange.com/a/44187/19607 for some data about math PhD employment in the US.
 

 Discussion on answer by nengel: A stu…

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Kimball
Dec 15, 2017 19:37
@M.Herzkamp And you often have to sign every page (or something saying you agree with each section).
 

 Discussion on answer by Pete L. Clark…

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Kimball
Dec 6, 2017 17:05
It's also possible that it's a different dean than the one who approved the initial search, or the dean changed their mind. I would think talking to the chair of the department might be able to illuminate the situation.
 

 Discussion on question by sldkjflskdj…

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Kimball
Nov 26, 2017 23:55
People are working on things like this, e.g.: blog.geogebra.org/2017/09/exam-phones
 

 Discussion on question by Donald: Is …

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Kimball
Oct 15, 2017 16:16
I used to go by "The Philosopher."
 

 Discussion on answer by Richard Erick…

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Kimball
Sep 23, 2017 16:55
I think 3 and 4 should be little footnotes. In my experience, academic dishonesty by researchers is very rare, and as written the answer might lead the OP to being suspicious if they have trouble getting the code in perfectly innocent situations.
 

 Discussion on answer by TheGrouch HK:…

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Kimball
Sep 17, 2017 09:12
@MargaretBenjamine That's not quite true. You can have dual citizenship in certain situations (e.g., under 20 or by exception).