Quincy
@Virginicus @futurebird @mildsunrise
and beware the words "obvious" and "clearly".
they do not belong in a maths text, ever, in my opinion. and yet I encounter them time and again
they add nothing but a feeling of inadequacy on part of the reader, in case the statement *isn't* actually obvious or clear.
myrmepropagandist
@gerbrand @quincy @Virginicus @mildsunrise
Often "left as exercise to the reader" means "I have done this problem/proof in the past, so I know it is possible. But I don't feel like doing it right now. I will not more examine *why* I might be avoiding it. It couldn't possibly be that something deep in my being remembers how horrible it was and I am avoiding it as all mathematicians avoid solved problems they know the answer to if its a lot of work (after all isn't that the point of math?)"
Gerbrand van Dieyen
@quincy @Virginicus @futurebird @mildsunrise "left as exercise to the reader" can be annoying as well
myrmepropagandist
@gerbrand @quincy @Virginicus @mildsunrise
Basically, the things that get "left as exercise to the reader" are so often awful because it's exactly the kind of picky, exhausting problem that isn't satisfying to do more than once.
Were it an elegant and breezy problem where everything comes together in a satisfying way the author would write it out just for the joy of doing it again.
Anyway that's my theory.
That said the "bad problems" are often where you really find out what you know.
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