Mathematical Proof Advice

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Masklein

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Aug 14, 2012
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There wasn't a good category for me to put this post in, so my apologies if this post should go elsewhere.

I have completed the first draft for a paper on a proof I have been working on. My problem is that I don't have anyone I know personally to review how sound the logic in the proof is or get advice on the paper. The subject matter of the paper is desirable enough that I am concerned about another party taking my proof and publishing it for themselves. The proof itself doesn't use anything beyond advanced algebra (polynomials).

Ideally I would like to find somebody local to me that could go over my work and give advice. I live in Orange County, CA. But I am open to other suggestions people have if they seem reasonable. I would like to avoid submitting my paper without another person checking the logic in it first.

Any advice people can give about this would be very helpful.
 
Masklein said:
There wasn't a good category for me to put this post in, so my apologies if this post should go elsewhere.

I have completed the first draft for a paper on a proof I have been working on. My problem is that I don't have anyone I know personally to review how sound the logic in the proof is or get advice on the paper. The subject matter of the paper is desirable enough that I am concerned about another party taking my proof and publishing it for themselves. The proof itself doesn't use anything beyond advanced algebra (polynomials).

Ideally I would like to find somebody local to me that could go over my work and give advice. I live in Orange County, CA. But I am open to other suggestions people have if they seem reasonable. I would like to avoid submitting my paper without another person checking the logic in it first.

Any advice people can give about this would be very helpful.
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Could you at least state what it deals with (you don't need to expose your "fact")? I would first be certain that your idea hasn't already been considered. There is a great deal of literature on polynomials coming from all branches of mathematics.

Short of a legal solution, I don't think there is much you can do.
 
I would rather not state what it deals with since it would be a large distraction from my original question. I do know that the proof I propose is not known, but the question it answers has been solved in another way.

I've tried looking locally for something like a math enthusiast club. But nothing of the sort seems to exist. Most places are geared towards k-12 studies. The public math institutions don't keep online communities of their own.

I thought perhaps somebody on the forums here would know of something.
 
Since the question has been solved, presumably published, then there's no harm in telling.

Anyway, I've seen a bunch of these threads on other boards. Eventually, you'll have to trust someone. Heck, even if you submitted it to a journal, a referee might reject your paper, and publish it themself ;)

[video=youtube;GrsN8iTwFiw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrsN8iTwFiw[/video]
 
I don't have a problem with trusting somebody. I do have a problem with trusting the anonymity of the internet. Working with an somebody face to face is very different from posting something on a message board to trust everybody.

My question was:

Does anyone have any ideas on how to go about finding another individual that could give me a hand? I have not been able to find a sort of local math enthusiast organization. Everything is education oriented. So I posted here to see if anyone knew of a way to find such a group or directly knew of a group.
 
I have hired probably a dozen consultants on confidential assignments over my career. Go to the local university with the best math department, hire someone whose speciality is pertinent, get your lawyer to draft a confidentiality agreement, have the math guy sign it, and get to work explicating your proof. By the way, I'd suggest alternative dispute resolution on an expedited basis and stipulated damages for breach in the confidentiality agreement.
 
What exactly are you concerned about? If someone "stole" your idea and published it as his own, so what? If you think this would be a good contribution to knowledge then it would be whoever got "credit" for publishing it. From what you say you don't have access to a university so are not concerned about getting tenure or promotion. Any "fame" (or "notoriety") due to publishing a math paper certainly wouldn't go beyond the "math community" until well after your death, if then. And, frankly, there is no other "reward" for publishing a math paper.
 
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