Massively collaborative mathematics

@article{Gowers2009MassivelyCM,
  title={Massively collaborative mathematics},
  author={Timothy Gowers and Michael Nielsen},
  journal={Nature},
  year={2009},
  volume={461},
  pages={879-881}
}
The 'Polymath Project' proved that many minds can work together to solve difficult mathematical problems. Timothy Gowers and Michael Nielsen reflect on the lessons learned for open-source science. 
View on Nature
michaelnielsen.org
151 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
4
Background Citations
50
Methods Citations
3

151 Citations

Analyzing Massively Collaborative Mathematics Projects
In the increasingly rare segment, the stage curtain is raised to reveal an individual or team performing an unusual stunt, often accompanied by music from the CBS Orchestra ... after about thirty…
ProofPeer: Collaborative Theorem Proving
TLDR
It is believed that a successful implementation of collaborative theorem proving is a necessary prerequisite for the formal verification of large systems.
The twin prime conjecture and other curiosities regarding prime numbers
The paper begins with a reference to Riemann’s hypothesis on the sequence of prime numbers, still unproven today, and goes on to illustrate the twin prime conjecture and the more general Polignac’s…
The polymath project: lessons from a successful online collaboration in mathematics
TLDR
An in-depth descriptive history of Polymath is provided, using data analysis and visualization to elucidate the principles that led to its success, and the difficulties that must be addressed before the project can be scaled up.
Computational logic and the social
TLDR
This paper outlines a research agenda for a new vision of a mathematics social machine, a combination of people, computers, and archives to create and apply mathematics, and places it in the context of verification research, computational logic and Roy Dyckhoff’s pioneering work on computer proof.
Mathematical Arguments and Distributed Knowledge
Because the conclusion of a correct proof follows by necessity from its premises, and is thus independent of the mathematician’s beliefs about that conclusion, understanding how different pieces of…
Group Knowledge and Mathematical Collaboration: A Philosophical Examination of the Classification of Finite Simple Groups
TLDR
This paper considers the philosophical tensions that Steingart uncovers, and uses them to argue that the best account of the epistemic status of the Classification Theorem will be essentially and ineliminably social.
Stumbling Around in the Dark: Lessons from Everyday Mathematics
TLDR
This essay looks at four case studies to see what the authors can learn about the everyday practice of mathematics, and the role of computer algebra, in particular the GAP system, in the production of mathematics.
ANALYZING THE DISCOURSE OF GEOGEBRA COLLABORATIONS
TLDR
It is argued for a view of mathematics as discourse and for a specific set of complementary approaches to analyzing collaborative math discourse to reveal processes of mathematical group cognition.
Toward a Comparative Cognitive History: Archimedes and D. H. J. Polymath
TLDR
It is argued that a cognitive history methodology can shed light into the nature of collective intelligence and its differences from individual intelligence.
...
...

References

Targeted Development of Registries of Biological Parts
TLDR
By analyzing inclusion relationships between the sequences of the Registry entries, this work builds a network that can be related to the Registry abstraction hierarchy and extracts the distribution of entry reuse and complexity.