Tanswell, Fenner Stanley and Inglis, Matthew (2025) Interesting and Important Mathematics. [Preprint]

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Abstract

What do mathematicians consider interesting and important? In this chapter, we use corpus linguistics to analyse 5087 mathematics pre-print articles from the arXiv, containing 4423 instances of the word ‘interesting’ and 6501 instances of the word ‘important’. We examined what each of these instances was describing as interesting or important, and thereby identified various patterns of their use. Most notably for philosophers of mathematics, there is a vast and rich variety of usages beyond merely applying them to the mainstays of philosophising: definitions, theorems, and proofs.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Tanswell, Fenner Stanley Inglis, Matthew m.j.inglis@lboro.ac.uk
Additional Information:	Forthcoming in: Joseph Ulatowski, Dan Weijers, and Justin Sytsma (eds.) Experimental Philosophy and Corpus Analysis (Bloomsbury, 2026).
Keywords:	mathematical practice; corpus linguistics; interesting; important; mathematical values; proof
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Mathematics > Practice Specific Sciences > Mathematics > Proof Specific Sciences > Mathematics > Values Specific Sciences > Mathematics General Issues > Values In Science
Depositing User:	Dr Fenner Tanswell
Date Deposited:	11 Jun 2026 15:20
Last Modified:	11 Jun 2026 15:20
Item ID:	29996
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Mathematics > Practice Specific Sciences > Mathematics > Proof Specific Sciences > Mathematics > Values Specific Sciences > Mathematics General Issues > Values In Science
Date:	2025
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/29996

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