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Is asking proof verification questions frowned upon here -- especially if one keeps asking such a type of question?

My concerns stems from the fact if the proof is correct, users merely post "verified" or some sort on the comments section. What is the incentive for the users who care about reputation points to check the work of another? It seems like they can only get points if the proof is incorrect(thus having to correct it), or show an alternative way of proving it.

In other forums it would be suggested that I take some course in some institution to ameliorate this "proof verification" issue; however, this is not always ideal, as even if I do, what if I do problems independently from those that are assigned by the instructor? Surely, I cannot pester him/her too much about verifying solutions to problems that were not assigned. It is also not uncommon for one to study an entire topic altogether with a text that does not have a solutions manual.

Thanks.

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2 Answers 2

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It really depends on where you are in learning mathematics. If you're at the stage where you can look at a proof and be confident about whether it is correct, then asking such questions is not likely to have great value to you (and you'll probably recognize that) - the challenge of mathematics would be more in generating the proofs than in checking them. They'd still be on-topic here, but if you post a lot of proofs you wrote and all you get is, "Yup, that one's correct too", it's probably not worth the effort for you - so it'd be wise to focus only on proofs you have particular concerns about.

However, if you're learning to think with proofs and aren't confident in your work (which, judging from your previous questions, seems more to be the case), then asking about your work is really likely to be beneficial to you and likely to allow substantive answers. It takes a lot of time to learn to write good proofs, and even once you get to writing correct proofs, asking proof-verification questions regarding them can help to clear uncertainty and can point you towards more elegant ways to write proofs. Writing proofs is a really foundational skill and there tends to be more to say than "correct" or "incorrect" - so if your motivation is to improve your handle on proofs, then it's highly advisable to write up a question and post it here - and I doubt that your appetite for asking would exceed what this site would be willing to provide (and if it did, you're acting in good faith, so I'm sure it would be addressed politely).

Long story short: Just keep doing what you're doing. Your questions are fine contributions to the site, and as long as you feel you're getting something out of them, it would seem everyone is happy with the arrangement.

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No problem whatsoever. Remember to show your work, give context and details. That's all.

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