The angst of a graduate student who has not yet written a paper, but really wants to

Sixta, Sabrina

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Journal of Humanistic Mathematics Volume 12 | Issue 1 January 2022 The Solipsist’s First Paper Sabrina Sixta University of Toronto Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.claremont.edu/jhm  Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons, and the Mathematics Commons Recommended Citation Sabrina Sixta, "The Solipsist’s First Paper," Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, Volume 12 Issue 1 (January 2022), pages 503-503. DOI: 10.5642/jhummath.202201.38. Available at: https://scholarship.claremont.edu/jhm/vol12/iss1/38 ©2022 by the authors. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. JHM is an open access bi-annual journal sponsored by the Claremont Center for the Mathematical Sciences and published by the Claremont Colleges Library | ISSN 2159-8118 | http://scholarship.claremont.edu/jhm/ The editorial staff of JHM works hard to make sure the scholarship disseminated in JHM is accurate and upholds professional ethical guidelines. However the views and opinions expressed in each published manuscript belong exclusively to the individual contributor(s). The publisher and the editors do not endorse or accept responsibility for them. See https://scholarship.claremont.edu/jhm/policies.html for more information. The Solipsist’s First PaperSabrina Sixtasabrina.sixta@mail.utoronto.caMy first paper will beIrrefutable.Because, with probability oneit will be incomprehensible.It will cite from booksfound in the library of Babel1With explanationsthat will just be rabble.It will include many topics,That it will expand,But no single mindwill fully understand.While the topics will be quadrivial,The most important theoremswill be assigned the proof“It’s trivial.”The results of my paper will be a mystery.Its relevance already is history.1Jorge Luis Borges, “The Library of Babel” (“La biblioteca de Babel”), short story originallypublished in 1941 as part of his book The Garden of Branching Paths (El jard́ın de senderosque se bifurcan). The Spanish original can be read at https://www.literatura.us/borges/biblioteca.html; as of January 20, 2022, an English translation is available at https://web.stanford.edu/class/history34q/readings/textualizingscience/library_of_babel.html.Journal of Humanistic Mathematics Volume 12 Number 1 (January 2022)

The Solipsist’s First Paper

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The Solipsist’s First Paper

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