MathOverflow: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 02:26, 25 February 2014

Revision as of 07:26, 16 May 2014

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It is primarily for asking questions on mathematics research – i.e. related to [[List of unsolved problems in mathematics|unsolved problems]] and the extension of knowledge of mathematics into areas that are not yet known – and does not welcome requests from non-mathematicians for instruction, for example [[Homework|homework exercises]]. It does welcome various questions on other topics that might normally be discussed among mathematicians, for example about [[Academic publishing|publishing]], [[Peer review|refereeing]], [[Doctoral advisor|advising]], getting [[Tenure (academic)|tenure]], etc. It is generally inhospitable to questions perceived as tendentious or argumentative.

== Origin and history ==

The website was started by [[University of California, Berkeley|Berkeley]] graduate students and postdocs Anton Geraschenko, David Zureick-Brown, and Scott Morrison on 28 September 2009.<ref>Jared Keller, [http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/09/beyond-facebook-how-the-worlds-mathematicians-organize-online/63422/ Beyond Facebook: How the World's Mathematicians Organize Online], ''[[The Atlantic]]'', 28 September 2010</ref> The hosting was supported by [[Ravi Vakil]].<ref>{{citation |url = http://www.mercurynews.com/san-jose-neighborhoods/ci_15713739 |newspaper = [[San Jose Mercury News]] |date = August 8, 2010 |title = Stanford and UC Berkeley create massively collaborative math |first = Lisa M. |last = Krieger }}.</ref> The original version of the website did not support [[LaTeX]] markup for mathematical formulas. To support most of the functionality of LaTeX, [[MathJax]] was added in order for the site to transform math equations into their appropriate forms. In its current state, any post including "Math Mode" (text between $'s) will translate into proper mathematical notation. The site originally ran on a separate installation of the StackExchange 1.0 software engine; on June 25, 2013, it has been integrated in the regular [[Stack Exchange Network]], running SE 2.0.<ref>{{cite web |title = Math Overflow 2.0 |url = http://aperiodical.com/2013/06/mathoverflow-2-0/ |author = Christian Perfect |publisher = ''The Aperiodical'' |date = 25 June 2013 }}</ref>

=== Naming ===

According to MathOverflow FAQ, the proper spelling is "MathOverflow" rather than "Math Overflow".

== Use of mathematical formulas ==

The original version of the website did not support [[LaTeX]] markup for mathematical formulas. To support most of the functionality of LaTeX, [[MathJax]] was added in order for the site to transform math equations into their appropriate forms. In its current state, any post including "Math Mode" (text between $'s) will translate into proper mathematical notation.

== Usage ==