Saturday, January 31, 2009

Internet becomes fueling ground for Open Source mathematics discussion


An interesting post from Timothy Gowers, Field's medalist and Fellow at Trinity College, suggests starting an online weblog for publically collaborating mathematical concepts and problem solving. Glyn Moody, on his blog Open..., took it one step further and suggested that this could be considered Open Source Mathematics. Is it possible to use the Open Source movement as a methodology of solving mathematical principles and problems? I absolutely believe this is possible. In fact I am willing to suggest that this has already been in existence.

Math is a language that has no race, religion, or region. Math has been collaborated by all sorts of people, in academia or not, for centuries. The only thing that has kept public collaboration is the media by which it is presented to the masses. In the past the methodology was journals, papers, lectures, and small forums of people to collaborate. Now the age of the internet has brought a new media to present mathematical ideas. Journals are already being spread online. Blogs and online chat rooms have brought like-minded interest groups together. I believe we could be in a new age of mathematical revolution.

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