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I wouldn't take it for granted that people publish. Many mathematicians work on wall street, and they would never publish something they came up with if it wasn
by vikramkr 7y ago
I wouldn't take it for granted that people publish. Many mathematicians work on wall street, and they would never publish something they came up with if it wasnt 10000% certain the theorem isnt a commercial secret. Money wins all, especially in mathematics half of which was invented to make counting money easier.
- enriquto 7y agoYes, of course. Not all known theorems are published immediately. What is the problem with that? Hiding a truth you have discovered is OK. "Owning" a truth that you have told everyone is absurd.
- vikramkr 7y agoOwning a truth for a limited period of time in return for telling everyone instead of keeping it a secret is not absurd. Society would rather you tell people so people can build on it (at least in noncommercial ways, or via license) while you own it than keep it secret, so we created the patent system. The alternative could easily be trade secrets until you die and never reveal it, and as a society we decided to incentivize you to not do that