5 ms·

Well yeah, math books... Jokes aside, i too think we need a new framework for divulgating math that actually tells what you need to know, without just handwavi

Well yeah, math books... Jokes aside, i too think we need a new framework for divulgating math that actually tells what you need to know, without just handwaving at it, BUT without the amount of technical details of a mathematics class. What do you know, i think this is Possible, too.. You can communicate a surprising amount of information if you use words properly. Of course, since this has never been done except from basic maths, it would be quite a task to embark in, and one would only do it if it made economic sense..

fifnir 8y ago
> only do it if it made economic sense What if writing wikipedia articles was treated like publishing on prestigious journals? (somehow)
- sigstoat 8y ago
  wikipedia already covers abstract algebra (the subject necessary for understanding the math in this article) rather well. what more do you want?
  - Cobord 8y ago
    Thank Richard Borcherds (R.E.B.) for a lot of that.
  - AnimalMuppet 8y ago
    Something that covers abstract algebra rather well if you don't already know abstract algebra well enough to know what all the terms mean? I mean, I suppose you could try to walk the graph of definitions of terms in Wikipedia to try to understand one of the articles. But I'm pretty sure that's not an acyclic graph, and it's not clear where to start in that process.
sigstoat 8y ago
> Jokes aside, i too think we need a new framework for divulgating math that actually tells what you need to know, without just handwaving at it, BUT without the amount of technical details of a mathematics class. oh man, have i got bad news for you about the amount of technical detail present in math classes.
- mikec3010 8y ago
  > the amount of technical detail present in math classes You misspelled "gatekeeping".
amelius 8y ago
I'm still hoping for an ELI5 version of Wikipedia (e.g. as a language option).
- grzm 8y ago
  I don’t know if it’s a language option, but a Simple English version of Wikipedia does exist. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_English_Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_English_Wikipedia

fifnir 8y ago

> only do it if it made economic sense What if writing wikipedia articles was treated like publishing on prestigious journals? (somehow)

sigstoat 8y ago
wikipedia already covers abstract algebra (the subject necessary for understanding the math in this article) rather well. what more do you want?
- Cobord 8y ago
  Thank Richard Borcherds (R.E.B.) for a lot of that.
- AnimalMuppet 8y ago
  Something that covers abstract algebra rather well if you don't already know abstract algebra well enough to know what all the terms mean? I mean, I suppose you could try to walk the graph of definitions of terms in Wikipedia to try to understand one of the articles. But I'm pretty sure that's not an acyclic graph, and it's not clear where to start in that process.

sigstoat 8y ago

> Jokes aside, i too think we need a new framework for divulgating math that actually tells what you need to know, without just handwaving at it, BUT without the amount of technical details of a mathematics class. oh man, have i got bad news for you about the amount of technical detail present in math classes.

mikec3010 8y ago
> the amount of technical detail present in math classes You misspelled "gatekeeping".

amelius 8y ago

I'm still hoping for an ELI5 version of Wikipedia (e.g. as a language option).

grzm 8y ago
I don’t know if it’s a language option, but a Simple English version of Wikipedia does exist. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_English_Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_English_Wikipedia