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absc bonked 23 Apr 2026 12:03 +0200
original: tao@mathstodon.xyz

As a crude first approximation, the problem-solving component of mathematical research (which, one should stress, is not the *only* aspect of such research) can be decomposed into three subcomponents:

1. Proof generation (finding a solution to a given problem);
2. Proof verification (checking that a proposed solution actually works); and
3. Proof digestion (understanding the essence of a solution, placing it in context with previous literature, summarizing and explaining it effectively, and gaining insights on other related problems and topics).

Until recently, all three of these subtasks were rather difficult and time-intensive to perform; but a human mathematician (or a collaboration between several mathematicians) who had invested the effort to both generate a proof and verify it usually gained enough understanding into the structure of that proof that they could also digest it effectively. Because of this, our community has been generally content to emphasize the proof generation and verification aspect of problem solving, as the proof digestion tended to be created naturally as an organic byproduct of these first two aspects. This was also convenient for assessing proof efforts, as the generation and verification tasks had well-defined objectives, whilst proof digestion was a more subjective and open-ended process. [Though "the ability to present the result at a research conference and take questions" is a rough first approximation of a metric for whether a proof has been digested,] (1/3)

absc honked back 21 Apr 2026 15:43 +0200
in reply to: https://x.keinpfusch.net/users/uriel/statuses/01KPR2QE1EVPY4M05M3D7EWMQF

@uriel

Mai, mai mettersi fra uno Svizzero e la sua amata burocrazia, o contorsione mentale.

C'e' un termine, per descrivere il distillato di Svizzero-Tedesco: buenzli.

Pero' ora mi sorge spontanea una domanda: come fa un popolo come quello tedesco, ad aver prodotto filosofi come Jurgen Habermas? (Si, mi sono arrivati un po' di suoi libri e ti ringrazio per quando me lo segnalasti).

absc honked 21 Apr 2026 12:16 +0200

E' proprio, definitivamente vero che i tedeschi dovrebbero essere banditi dallo scrivere software, qualsiasi tipo di software, incluso uno script di shell.

Troveranno sempre il modo di ficcare, da qualche parte, qualcosa che non c'entra, facendolo nel modo piu' contorto, verboso e indecifrabile possibile.