0

I am an undergraduate majoring in mathematics and I am currently working on a paper with a professor oversea. I found that there might be a proof I cannot understand on the statistic paper on arxiv he asked me to read, and he was not sure if the author is correct as well. I wonder what should I do now. The proof is a bit long so I can barely discuss it with students around me. Should I look for discussion related somewhere, or write an email to the author directly? thx in advance

Improve this question
3
  • 4
    Reaching out to authors is always a good thing to try. Some can be REALLY helpful. Also you should check to see if there is a published article for the preprint. If there is then you may find additional explanation.
    – Jason White
    Commented Jan 15 at 16:47
  • 1
    Does this answer your question? What can I do if I don’t completely understand a paper?
    – Anyon
    Commented Jan 15 at 16:50
  • 1
    You should start by talking to the professor you are working with.
    – Andy Putman
    Commented Jan 15 at 18:05

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

There are three things you (and your advisor) can do. First, yes, you can ask the authors for more detail saying that you can't connect the parts they show.

Second, you can try to provide your own proof, using what they have as an outline, trying to connect those parts.

Third, you can try to find a counterexample to the overall statement. It may be that they got it wrong.

The last two might be frustrating, but they might also improve your mathematical skill and insight. It is how mathematicians work, of course, once they have an idea for something that might be true.

Improve this answer
1
  • 1
    Adding to this: it is certainly possible that the authors assumed something they didn't mark down, making the theorem statement false as written (but true under some restrictions).
    – Cameron Williams
    Commented Jan 15 at 22:23

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .