10

If in a (mathematics) research paper, you cannot seem to find the term to describe something even after much digging and questioning, is it safe to assume that a word for it does not exist?

This question becomes even more confounding the more simple the concept. For example, I cannot seem to find a common term describing the first index in a sequence that a number divides (the index it is a primitive factor of).

If this assumption is not a safe one, how should I proceed? With one of the few things stalling the self-archiving of a paper being the ambiguity over a term, do I simply assume that there is not a common term and create my own at the risk of seeming like an ignoramus? Is there any other course of action that may be taken, any general approach that other researches have taken?

Tejas Rao
  • 614
  • 4
  • 13
  • Well, no, that assumption isn't exactly safe, but at that point you've probably at least ascertained that there is no commonly used term for that concept in your field. – Anyon Sep 27 '18 at 04:51
  • 1
    I can't understand your example of "the first index in a sequence that a number divides". A sequence is $a_0, a_1, a_2, \dots$; its indices are $0, 1, 2, dots$; so the first index in a sequence that $n$ divides is exactly $n$, and the definition seems moot (for instance, it doesn't depend on the sequence). – Federico Poloni Sep 27 '18 at 07:02
  • Math.SE and MO exist! ;) – YiFan Sep 27 '18 at 11:05
  • 1
    @user496634 and others, there is a question on Math.se about this already, if you want to help with the specific problem. – Anyon Sep 27 '18 at 11:59
  • 2
    @FedericoPoloni Since you started the indexing of the sequence with 0, the first index that n divides is 0. – Andreas Blass Sep 28 '18 at 03:31
  • 2
    A fairly common "solution" to the problem is to invent you own terminology and see whether it gets adopted. For example, an abstract simplicial complex satisfying Gromov's "no Delta condition" is known a "flag complex", but it's exactly the same thing as what Girard named a "coherence space" and it's also called a "clique complex". – Andreas Blass Sep 28 '18 at 03:38

1 Answers1

8

It's a common problem, not only in mathematics but in all fields of research. Oftentimes, we feel that there should be a term to describe a specific concept or method, but we sure don't know what it is or how to find it if it exists. Scouring the literature for a term we don't know is very difficult, if not impossible, as long as we don't have at least a direction to look for.

Basically, the best thing to do in that case is to do due diligence (e.g., ask colleagues in a suitable field, look over papers that you suspect may have used this concept or method, check some text books), but if that ends up being unfruitful you can either coin your own term or not use a specific term at all. For the former, an academic's favorite cop-out phrase ("to the best of our knowledge ...") may come in handy.

The good news is that, if an established term actually exists, you may very easily be pointed towards it during peer review.

xLeitix
  • 135,037
  • 46
  • 333
  • 493