Should theorems be a single paragraph?
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Most of the references I read make theorems (lemmas, propositions, etc) [the theorems themselves, not their proofs!] out to be a single paragraph. I've noticed that even when a theorem spans a whole page, it is still a single paragraph. Is this an established convention of mathematical writing? I'm writing a paper for a journal that uses space rather than indentation to separate paragraphs. Would it be awkard to have two paragraphs in a theorem then?
article-writing
asked Dec 23 '18 at 22:45
AsdfAsdf
417213
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show 11 more comments
$begingroup$
Most of the references I read make theorems (lemmas, propositions, etc) [the theorems themselves, not their proofs!] out to be a single paragraph. I've noticed that even when a theorem spans a whole page, it is still a single paragraph. Is this an established convention of mathematical writing? I'm writing a paper for a journal that uses space rather than indentation to separate paragraphs. Would it be awkard to have two paragraphs in a theorem then?
article-writing
asked Dec 23 '18 at 22:45
AsdfAsdf
417213
$endgroup$
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The proof of Fermat's Last theorem is about $200$ pages.
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– John Douma
Dec 23 '18 at 22:58
1
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But the theorem itself is rather short as far as I know.
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– Asdf
Dec 23 '18 at 23:04
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I thought you were asking about the proofs of theorems. I have never seen a one page long statement of a theorem.
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– John Douma
Dec 23 '18 at 23:07
3
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Maybe. I personally believe policy should never trump intelligence. If your theorem looks like you are combining multiple results that can be proved independently then it probably should be broken up. You might try looking at the style and submission guidelines for a couple of journals to see if they say anything about this.
$endgroup$
– John Douma
Dec 23 '18 at 23:16
2
$begingroup$
One workaround that may not apply to your situation would be a one paragraph claim that, say, all the claims in a list/table somewhere else are true.
$endgroup$
– Mark S.
Dec 23 '18 at 23:55
|
show 11 more comments
$begingroup$
Most of the references I read make theorems (lemmas, propositions, etc) [the theorems themselves, not their proofs!] out to be a single paragraph. I've noticed that even when a theorem spans a whole page, it is still a single paragraph. Is this an established convention of mathematical writing? I'm writing a paper for a journal that uses space rather than indentation to separate paragraphs. Would it be awkard to have two paragraphs in a theorem then?
article-writing
asked Dec 23 '18 at 22:45
AsdfAsdf
417213
$endgroup$
Most of the references I read make theorems (lemmas, propositions, etc) [the theorems themselves, not their proofs!] out to be a single paragraph. I've noticed that even when a theorem spans a whole page, it is still a single paragraph. Is this an established convention of mathematical writing? I'm writing a paper for a journal that uses space rather than indentation to separate paragraphs. Would it be awkard to have two paragraphs in a theorem then?
article-writing
article-writing
asked Dec 23 '18 at 22:45
AsdfAsdf
417213
asked Dec 23 '18 at 22:45
AsdfAsdf
417213
edited Dec 24 '18 at 0:32
Asdf
asked Dec 23 '18 at 22:45
AsdfAsdf
417213
asked Dec 23 '18 at 22:45
AsdfAsdf
417213
asked Dec 23 '18 at 22:45
AsdfAsdf
417213
417213
$begingroup$
The proof of Fermat's Last theorem is about $200$ pages.
$endgroup$
– John Douma
Dec 23 '18 at 22:58
1
$begingroup$
But the theorem itself is rather short as far as I know.
$endgroup$
– Asdf
Dec 23 '18 at 23:04
$begingroup$
I thought you were asking about the proofs of theorems. I have never seen a one page long statement of a theorem.
$endgroup$
– John Douma
Dec 23 '18 at 23:07
3
$begingroup$
Maybe. I personally believe policy should never trump intelligence. If your theorem looks like you are combining multiple results that can be proved independently then it probably should be broken up. You might try looking at the style and submission guidelines for a couple of journals to see if they say anything about this.
$endgroup$
– John Douma
Dec 23 '18 at 23:16
2
$begingroup$
One workaround that may not apply to your situation would be a one paragraph claim that, say, all the claims in a list/table somewhere else are true.
$endgroup$
– Mark S.
Dec 23 '18 at 23:55
|
show 11 more comments
$begingroup$
The proof of Fermat's Last theorem is about $200$ pages.
$endgroup$
– John Douma
Dec 23 '18 at 22:58
1
$begingroup$
But the theorem itself is rather short as far as I know.
$endgroup$
– Asdf
Dec 23 '18 at 23:04
$begingroup$
I thought you were asking about the proofs of theorems. I have never seen a one page long statement of a theorem.
$endgroup$
– John Douma
Dec 23 '18 at 23:07
3
$begingroup$
Maybe. I personally believe policy should never trump intelligence. If your theorem looks like you are combining multiple results that can be proved independently then it probably should be broken up. You might try looking at the style and submission guidelines for a couple of journals to see if they say anything about this.
$endgroup$
– John Douma
Dec 23 '18 at 23:16
2
$begingroup$
One workaround that may not apply to your situation would be a one paragraph claim that, say, all the claims in a list/table somewhere else are true.
$endgroup$
– Mark S.
Dec 23 '18 at 23:55
$begingroup$
The proof of Fermat's Last theorem is about $200$ pages.
$endgroup$
– John Douma
Dec 23 '18 at 22:58
$begingroup$
The proof of Fermat's Last theorem is about $200$ pages.
$endgroup$
– John Douma
Dec 23 '18 at 22:58
1
1
$begingroup$
But the theorem itself is rather short as far as I know.
$endgroup$
– Asdf
Dec 23 '18 at 23:04
$begingroup$
But the theorem itself is rather short as far as I know.
$endgroup$
– Asdf
Dec 23 '18 at 23:04
$begingroup$
I thought you were asking about the proofs of theorems. I have never seen a one page long statement of a theorem.
$endgroup$
– John Douma
Dec 23 '18 at 23:07
$begingroup$
I thought you were asking about the proofs of theorems. I have never seen a one page long statement of a theorem.
$endgroup$
– John Douma
Dec 23 '18 at 23:07
3
3
$begingroup$
Maybe. I personally believe policy should never trump intelligence. If your theorem looks like you are combining multiple results that can be proved independently then it probably should be broken up. You might try looking at the style and submission guidelines for a couple of journals to see if they say anything about this.
$endgroup$
– John Douma
Dec 23 '18 at 23:16
$begingroup$
Maybe. I personally believe policy should never trump intelligence. If your theorem looks like you are combining multiple results that can be proved independently then it probably should be broken up. You might try looking at the style and submission guidelines for a couple of journals to see if they say anything about this.
$endgroup$
– John Douma
Dec 23 '18 at 23:16
2
2
$begingroup$
One workaround that may not apply to your situation would be a one paragraph claim that, say, all the claims in a list/table somewhere else are true.
$endgroup$
– Mark S.
Dec 23 '18 at 23:55
$begingroup$
One workaround that may not apply to your situation would be a one paragraph claim that, say, all the claims in a list/table somewhere else are true.
$endgroup$
– Mark S.
Dec 23 '18 at 23:55
|
show 11 more comments
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$begingroup$
The proof of Fermat's Last theorem is about $200$ pages.
$endgroup$
– John Douma
Dec 23 '18 at 22:58
1
$begingroup$
But the theorem itself is rather short as far as I know.
$endgroup$
– Asdf
Dec 23 '18 at 23:04
$begingroup$
I thought you were asking about the proofs of theorems. I have never seen a one page long statement of a theorem.
$endgroup$
– John Douma
Dec 23 '18 at 23:07
3
$begingroup$
Maybe. I personally believe policy should never trump intelligence. If your theorem looks like you are combining multiple results that can be proved independently then it probably should be broken up. You might try looking at the style and submission guidelines for a couple of journals to see if they say anything about this.
$endgroup$
– John Douma
Dec 23 '18 at 23:16
2
$begingroup$
One workaround that may not apply to your situation would be a one paragraph claim that, say, all the claims in a list/table somewhere else are true.
$endgroup$
– Mark S.
Dec 23 '18 at 23:55