The World Record for the Shortest Math Article: 2 Words
a year ago
- #John Conway
- #mathematics
- #academic publishing
- John Conway and Alexander Soifer submitted a 2-word math paper to the American Mathematical Monthly in 2004.
- The paper included the words 'n2 + 2 can' and two drawings, aiming for a 'new world record' in brevity.
- The journal initially rejected it for being too short, suggesting more explanation was needed.
- Soifer and Conway defended the paper's quality over quantity, arguing it posed a fine open problem.
- The editor-in-chief proposed publishing it as 'boxed filler' to avoid blank space, which they accepted.
- The paper was published in the January 2005 issue as a filler piece.