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Tips for writing math and science articles (view source)
Revision as of 23:46, October 18, 2009
, 23:46, October 18, 2009comment about using math articles to show off
:<nowiki>{{Math-a}}</nowiki> (advanced)
:<nowiki>{{Math-a}}</nowiki> (advanced)
:We recommend placing one of these at the top of each article, to offer guidance to the reader. In some cases, it may be appropriate to use additional templates on individual sections of an article.
:We recommend placing one of these at the top of each article, to offer guidance to the reader. In some cases, it may be appropriate to use additional templates on individual sections of an article.
==Showing off==
Ed Poor once complained about "[http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Talk:Axiom_of_Choice&diff=prev&oldid=577568 grad students showing off]" in the writing of math articles. Unfortunately, this has been a real problem. The statement about the [[rational number]]s being a "[http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Rational_number&diff=83875&oldid=68302 totally disconnected set that is not locally compact]" (moved to [[real number]], and explained, a few hours ago), is a serious, but typical, case of this.
::'''It does no good to put an advanced fact into an article aimed at less advanced people if you can't relate that fact to the things that the reader knows.'''
::'''The fact that you happen to know some fact is not a sufficient reason to put it into an article.'''
The problem with the "disconnected set" statement is that it is defined in terms of a topological concept (connectedness) which is far beyond the scope of the article in which it was placed. Connectedness involves sets that are both open and closed. Without saying why a certain set would be both open and closed in the rationals but not in the reals, the reader can't possibly appreciate what is being stated.
The preceding is emphatically '''NOT''' meant as a criticism of recent edits in mathematical articles. The recent edits have generally been of high quality. It is just something that has been a problem in the past, and that we need to watch out for in the future.
==Math markup==
==Math markup==