2134/12150
Matthew Inglis
Matthew
Inglis
Juan P. Mejia-Ramos
Juan P.
Mejia-Ramos
Keith Weber
Keith
Weber
Lara Alcock
Lara
Alcock
On mathematicians' different standards when evaluating elementary proofs
Loughborough University
2013
Conviction
Proof
Evaluation
Mathematics
Mathematicians
2013-04-19 10:23:37
Journal contribution
https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/journal_contribution/On_mathematicians_different_standards_when_evaluating_elementary_proofs/9367433
In this article, we report a study in which 109 research-active mathematicians were asked to judge the validity of a purported proof in undergraduate calculus. Significant results from our study were as follows: (a) there was substantial disagreement among mathematicians regarding whether the argument was a valid proof, (b) applied mathematicians were more likely than pure mathematicians to judge the argument valid, (c) participants who judged the argument invalid were more confident in their judgments than those who judged it valid, and (d) participants who judged the argument valid usually did not change their judgment when presented with a reason raised by other mathematicians for why the proof should be judged invalid. These findings suggest that, contrary to some claims in the literature, there is not a single standard of validity among contemporary mathematicians.