tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19908808.post4049664667048889034..comments2023-10-24T12:02:28.710-04:00Comments on Andy's Math/CS page: Making academic contacts (some thoughts for new researchers)Andy Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03897281159810085972noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19908808.post-1051752522284842582015-04-06T07:48:49.938-04:002015-04-06T07:48:49.938-04:00Great info! Thanks for sharing.Great info! Thanks for sharing.Rakshita Sharmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02242892814428817494noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19908808.post-29796719855188215772014-10-20T14:49:05.937-04:002014-10-20T14:49:05.937-04:00Got it, thanks Stasys.
In some cases identifying ...Got it, thanks Stasys.<br /><br />In some cases identifying a good special case to solve is itself a challenge, and requires the sort of questioning skills I discussed.Andy Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03897281159810085972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19908808.post-26559066946285208422014-10-20T13:58:57.212-04:002014-10-20T13:58:57.212-04:00Andy, I meant not "coming up with ideas to so...Andy, I meant not "coming up with ideas to solve a standing open question". Nobody expects this from a beginner. I rather meant "coming up with ideas to solve a SPECIAL CASE of a standing open question". So called "experts" are usually too busy to spend time for "special cases". Hence, they are happy seeing that some student had done this. And want that student have in the team.Stasyshttp://www.thi.informatik.uni-frankfurt.de/~jukna/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19908808.post-71874796463297355802014-10-19T18:39:47.138-04:002014-10-19T18:39:47.138-04:00I agree, coming up with ideas to solve a standing ...I agree, coming up with ideas to solve a standing open question can be more impressive than just asking new questions. But, it's also harder :-) And I am addressing people who might not have the readiness to do this yet. <br /><br />I think asking questions is a very good practice for young researchers, and it creates opportunities for them to apply problem-solving on problems that haven't already been scrutinized by experts. And as I say, when sharing a question with an expert it's best to include whatever partial progress you can manage.Andy Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03897281159810085972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19908808.post-63434732916503420992014-10-19T12:51:51.562-04:002014-10-19T12:51:51.562-04:00Just at the point: find a problem, "one foot ...Just at the point: find a problem, "one foot from a trivial away", try to solve it by yourself. If you already here face big problems - ask some expert in this stuff. The "one foot from a trivial away" here is important: asking questions experts are trying to answer for years is a very bad deal. <br /><br />Another way is to try to solve some special (not-so-trivial) case of a "big" problem, and contact an expert you know is working on it. This will definitely wake an interest. This happened with one student who just came to me with a sketch of a proof that so-called "multilinear" boolean circuits for CLIQUE are no more efficient than DNFs. None of "experts" has probably looked at this question before ("too special", "too simple"). But to make a rigorous proof was not such a simple deal at all. Many hidden aspects of multilinear circuits were detected by us both along the way. He then published a nice paper on it (of course, alone because initial ideas were entirely his).<br /><br />Also, one high-school student from Russia has had some ideas on how to prove Sperner's lemma about antichains for multisets. This also immediately waked my attention (and Razborov's - he told me about this). Etc. This way seems to be even better than just asking questions (not to speak about sending CVs or work experience).Stasyshttp://www.thi.informatik.uni-frankfurt.de/~jukna/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19908808.post-67413777173751767772014-10-19T11:07:09.165-04:002014-10-19T11:07:09.165-04:00Nice to have you back blogging (and thanks for the...Nice to have you back blogging (and thanks for the interesting adviceMohammadnoreply@blogger.com