Comments on: K-Theory editorial board resigns

By: Memories of a Weird Traveller » Blog Archive » All that K-Theory stuff

Memories of a Weird Traveller » Blog Archive » All that K-Theory stuff — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 08:17:52 +0000

[...] talking about the resigning of the whole editorial board of K-Theory (more on this here, here and here, and references therein), I thought I could put on my two cents showing a bit of “the other [...]

By: Ars Mathematica » Blog Archive » Springer versus Bak

Ars Mathematica » Blog Archive » Springer versus Bak — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 03:36:16 +0000

[...] Peter Woit has more on the resignation of the K Theory editorial board. [...]

By: John C. Baez

John C. Baez — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 08:15:37 +0000

The situation with K-Theory may be more complicated than it seemed at first… check out the new math journal wiki. And while you’re there, help us write some articles!

By: Peter

Peter — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 11:13:34 +0000

Well, Walt, I think that it is not only marginal output that declines with additional inputs, but indeed total outputs. How many times have I deleted some file I’d already written when I was over-tired! So, I think a Laffer curve applies here, not merely diminishing returns to scale.

By: Walt

Walt — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 03:03:43 +0000

Using Erdos’ definition of a mathematician as machine that turns coffee into theorems, the decline in output is closer to diminishing returns to scale for a firm than it is to the Laffer curve.

By: Peter

Peter — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 20:51:11 +0000

Jonathan -

Yes, I almost mentioned the Laffer Curve in my post, but thought no one here would know it!

A former boss of mine used to say “It is impossible to do a week’s work in more than 5 days, or a year’s work in more than 11 months.”

By: Jonathan Vos Post

Jonathan Vos Post — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 15:27:19 +0000

Peter:

“After some point, both the quantity and the quality of outputs actually declines with increasing hours of input.”

I hate to ask… but is this the Laffer Curve applied to Mathematics?

Related: the USA has the fewest days of paid vacation for the average employee of any developed nation (at least compared with Canada, Western Europe, even Japan). To me, that suggests the USA is on the wrong side of the maximum of the curve, and our productivity suffers in global competition.

By: Peter

Peter — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 09:20:37 +0000

Surely only slow or very dim mathematicians work 80-100 hours per week!

The best ones do a few minutes reading and then set their unconscious mind onto the problem while they get and do other stuff. The number theorist GH Hardy supposedly never spent more than a couple of hours at his desk each day — usually in the morning. In the afternoons, he played cricket, read novels, took long walks, and went drinking with friends. If you read the autobio of the probability theorist (later an economist) JM Keynes, you find he did something similar — even when he was a senior civil servant, he rarely got to his office before late morning, and always left at 5. He usually spent his evenings being entertained with his ballerina wife and her louche friends.

After some point, both the quantity and the quality of outputs actually declines with increasing hours of input.

By: John Armstrong

John Armstrong — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 04:11:45 +0000

Andrei, my weblog is part of my work. A lot of it is leading up to discussions of my actual research, yes. But public outreach is also a valid part of mathematical work.

Besides, a big part of getting hired these days is to get known. The weblog will (hopefully) help with that.

By: Andrei

Andrei — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 00:41:17 +0000

Totally off-topic, but I’ve always wanted to ask… aren’t research mathematicians supposed to work 80-100 hours per week? If so, how do they manage to write and comment on blogs?