Parallel lines

摘要

Crowd-sourcing has reached mathematics, and at first glance it might seem as if this stereotypically solitary discipline is finally catching up with what other sciences have been doing for years. But, as we explore on page 422, the maths project Polymath, which invites participants to pitch in with ideas and results that might help to solve whatever problem the coordinator has set, is in some ways ahead of the curve. Not all of Polymath's challenges - nine so far - have produced a successful solution. But even 'failures' can be productive, and all of these efforts represent genuine collaborations at the highest technical level.