Timeline for What tricky mathematical questions are on topic here?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
5 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Jul 12, 2017 at 13:17 | comment | added | Gareth McCaughan Mod | (The handle-cranking procedure involves a clever elegant idea and leads to a clever elegant solution. It just happens that it's a clever elegant idea someone else thought up first, and that there are basically-equivalent clever elegant solutions to thousands of other questions of the same form.) | |
| Jul 12, 2017 at 13:16 | comment | added | Gareth McCaughan Mod | Actually, that puzzle of yours is an interesting case. Whether it's "textbook" or "puzzle" depends on the solver's background. I look at that for two seconds, think "oh, it's one of those" and immediately know what handle-cranking procedure I could follow to solve it :-). | |
| Jul 12, 2017 at 13:11 | comment | added | Rand al'Thor Mod | @GarethMcCaughan True, it's hard to judge until the puzzle is solved (as with many questions on this site, unfortunately). I didn't actually VTC either of them, and I believe it's possible that they do have interesting enough answers that they shouldn't have been closed; I was more presenting a reason to close them assuming that they should have been closed. (Cf. this puzzle of mine - as xnor said, it looks textbook but is nonetheless a maths puzzle.) | |
| Jul 12, 2017 at 13:08 | comment | added | Gareth McCaughan Mod | I don't think we know yet whether the group theory and field theory question are interesting. (At least, I don't; maybe you have solved them already.) The group theory question is a pretty natural one to ask; the field theory question isn't very interesting in itself, but it will be cute if it turns out -- which I assume it does -- to have an efficient and clean solution. If either has a short answer, then aside from mathsiness they seem as puzzle-y as many things posted here. | |
| Jul 12, 2017 at 13:03 | history | answered | Rand al'ThorMod | CC BY-SA 3.0 |