Organization: University of Illinois at Chicago
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 19:01:24 CST
From: <U53644@uicvm.uic.edu>
Newsgroups: sci.math
Subject: Re: Let's add some sci.math.* groups
 <1993Jan11.194822.665@stsci.edu>

Simple enough...........

        Continue maving sci.math for whatever postings don't fit in one of the
math subgroups (I'd suggest

          sci.math.applied          Theory of Differential Equations, Applied
                                    Probability, Integral Equations, etc. and
                                    (of course) real life applications of these
                                    fields. Anything that you'd expect to find
                                    in a SIAM meeting. Excludes Numerical
                                    Analysis, which already has a perfectly
                                    busy group of its' own, and Statistics,
                                    and.........

          sci.math.business         (Contrasting with technically oriented
                                    previous group), Operations Research,
                                    Actuarial Science, Financial Modeling,
                                    and other areas of application of
                                    Mathematics to business, government, etc.
                                    (Game theory,....)

                                    Why : Different audiences. Each group
                                    (for the most part) would just be wading
                                    through what the others are writing. Also,
                                    this is NOT addressed by sci.economics.
                                    Even if it stopped being a talk.politics
                                    clone - Business isn't Economics any more
                                    than Chemical Engineering is Physics.
                                    Different problems are considered.

        sci.math.teaching           This could include any "sci.math.undergrad"
                                    1. it allows usenet to be used as an
                                       educational tool
                                    2. it allows the prospective benificiaries
                                       of the techniques under discussion to
                                       give timely feedback.

        sci.math.recreational       self-explanatory. would include
                                    applications to the arts.

        sci.math.foundations        no, not logic. devoted to set theory and
                                    other efforts concerned with strenghthening
                                    the logical foundations of Mathematics
                                    (Measure theory, etc... the 'hairsplitting'
                                    that you hear PDE men grumbling darkly
                                    about during teas). Rigor as an art.
                                    (Point-set Topology, Category theory...)

        sci.math.geometry           Paradoxically, needed because of it's low
                                    traffic. This field (exclusive of
                                    algebraic and differential geometry),almost
                                    seems to be fading out - how many Geometry
                                    courses do you see listed lately ? A nice,
                                    clear, low noise level channel for
                                    communication among the ones left might
                                    help improve the health of the field.

'Leftovers' : Analysis, Algebra, Algebraic Topology, Combinatorics, etc.
 More groups might be added as needed.

 Gain : less time spent sorting through articles of little interest to one.
 Of course, there is no law against reading more than one group.

 Definite suggestion : Moderated groups, and/or mailing lists, like electronic
 journals.

I think that the initial poster has a good idea - a little more order will make
reading these groups easier and more productive.


                                            Joseph B. Dunphy