Template talk:Areas of mathematics

message: This list is inconsistent.  Why do we separate geometry from differential geometry but not topology from differential topology?  We could write in the 3 or 4 branches of topology, but I'd prefer to merge the two branches of geometry.  Of course, before that happens, we have to make sure that the article geometry actually mentions differential geometry.  At the moment, it does not.  I would also like to see numerical analysis, functional analysis, calculus, and differential equations all fall under analysis.  And linear algebra and abstract algebra (and maybe category theory as well, but maybe not) all go under algebra.  Hmm... this all sounds like a lot of work.  Maybe for the moment, it would be better to just split topology. -lethe talk 20:50, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I did it, but now I'm afraid of escalation.  I feel bad about leaving out algebraic geometry, for example. -lethe talk 20:59, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Oops, apparently differential topology and differential geometry both redirect to differential geometry and topology.  That's a bunch of crap though, if you ask me. -lethe talk 21:02, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  too many 

message: This template seems to have any identity crisis. It seems to me that there are three (different but related) questions it could be trying to answer:
#What are the major brances of elementary mathematics?
#What are the major areas of (contemporary) mathematical inquiry?
#What are the major theories of mathematics?
In some cases, there is no problem (probability is a good answer to all three!). But overall, it seems to answer some combination of the three of these. I think it might be more useful if it were more focused. For example, it has appears to include algebra, set theory, logic, calculus, differential equations and linear algebra because every undergraduate in a mathematical field learns something about this. They are answers to the first question, but they would be subsumed in abstract algebra, analysis, functional analysis and foundations of mathematics. I mean, it seems weird to see algebraic geometry and algebraic topology in there, doesn't it, when it is something that many people in serious math programs don't learn about until grad school? –Joke 14:26, 24 July 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  identity crisis 

message: ... with regards to this navigational box is currently taking place at Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Mathematics#Navigational_templates Tompw 21:40, 10 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  A relevant discussion... 

message: I added category theory, if set theory is there, category theory should be there too. Set theory and Category theory are certainly the two fundamental revolutions of the XXth century in Mathematics. Cenarium (talk) 17:20, 8 March 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Category theory 

message: Where does this fit in? Also, I think calculus should be split off from its parenthetical position "within" Analytics Analysis. It goes beyond that. —Anonymous DissidentTalk 08:06, 28 May 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: It's not analytics. It's called analysis which is mathematical jargon for the study of concepts involving limits. Calculus does not go beyond analysis. Calculus is analysis. I've changed it to Analysis/Calculus. Charvest (talk) 07:54, 29 May 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Sorry, slip of the mind. —Anonymous DissidentTalk 08:01, 29 May 2009 (UTC)

text: Also the template at present is about the most major fields. If we are going to include things like knot theory then the template should really be expanded to include all the subdisciplines of each area. Charvest (talk) 07:58, 29 May 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Why should algebra have three subfields mentioned, then? —Anonymous DissidentTalk 08:00, 29 May 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Well no categorization is perfect, but I think the point of that is mainly to distinguish elementary algebra amd abstract algebra. Mathematicians often refer to abstract algebra simply as algebra and elementary algebra as arithmetic. Charvest (talk) 08:06, 29 May 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  [[Knot theory]] 

message: Arithmetic and trigonometry should be removed - these are by no means "major fields" in mathematics (I've removed them).
Also, I think that a section should be made for differential equations (ordinary and partial), separate from "analysis/calculus" (this one seems to containt to may distinct fields).  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Neworder1 (talk • contribs) 20:40, 30 June 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Proposed changes 

message: Could this template be improved by adopting the hierarchical organization of the Applied Mathematics template?
I would suggest (roughly) following the MSC classification system. 
*Foundations & (Mathematical) Logic
*Algebra
*Analysis
*Topology & Geometry: 
*Applied Mathematics: Main topics (left-hand side categories) from the AM template. 
This division, using the MSC, seems to be the best available (one-dimensional) hierarchy, and does reflect the organization of the mathematical sciences' review journals. 
Thanks, Kiefer.Wolfowitz (talk) 16:40, 16 March 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Comparison with Applied Mathematics template  

message: Suggestion: 
<noinclude>
This is a rough suggestion. Kiefer.Wolfowitz (talk) 17:22, 16 March 2010 (UTC)
thread_title: Pure Mathematics template

message: It would be good to create another template for "Basic Mathematics" with 
*topics Basic algebra, Euclidean geometry, trigonometry, Calculus, linear algebra, ordinary differential equations, partial differential equations, Fourier analysis, probability, statistics, discrete mathematics, logic, combinatorics, operations research 
* Modeling and simulation: Mathematical models, Scientific computing, 
* Statistics: experiment, surveys, analyzing data, etc.
Thanks. Kiefer.Wolfowitz (talk) 17:22, 16 March 2010 (UTC)
thread_title: Basic mathematics