Who is the author of mathpages.com?

  • Thread starter Chris Hillman
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In summary, there was a conversation about a correction regarding the author of the website, mathpages.com, which was mistakenly attributed to Professor Ken Brown from Cornell University. It was clarified that the author is actually Kevin S. Brown and there was discussion about the dangers of trying to identify anonymous authors on the internet. Later on, it was mentioned that the website mathlectures.net was plagiarizing content from mathpages.com and there was a request for contact information for Kevin S. Brown. Another member shared a link to a forum thread where the owner of mathpages.com was already aware of the plagiarism.
  • #1
Chris Hillman
Science Advisor
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A small but possibly important correction:

Back in May 2006, pervect cited a page he found at the well known mathpages.com website, which often has some quite good stuff (although I certainly wouldn't agree with everything the author writes in http://www.mathpages.com/rr/rrtoc.htm, he is a thoughtful writer), and commented

Unfortunately, I'm not quite sure who the author of the above actually is, which makes it a less than perfect source to resolve a debate, but it does agree with my recollection that we don't need to postulate geodesic motion separately.

Then clj4 wrote:

clj4 said:
He is professor Ken Brown from Cornell.
.

Not true; the author of mathpages.com is called KEVIN S. Brown, and in happier days his contact information (now very outdated) appeared in his website. Verification of the author's name can be found at websites like http://home.att.net/~numericana/fame/ [Broken].

(I can just hear some freshfaced InterNet newbie asking, "why would the author of a seemingly inoffensive pedagogical website remove his name from it after more than a decade of existence?" After some thought, and speaking as the author of some seemingly inoffensive pedagogical websites of my own, I would advise members of this forum to decline to speculate about his possible motivations.)

KENNETH S. Brown, known as Ken, the distinguished topologist (well known for his textbook on buildings and other work) on the faculty at Cornell, is someone completely different.

This no doubt unintentional illustrates the dangers inherent in "digging" for the identity of "anonymized" authors of material found on the Internet. There are sometimes good reasons (e.g. investigating apparent malfeasance, but probably not mere curiosity) to try to identify a web "handle" with a real-life individual, but feel that this should probably be left to experts who have demonstrated good judgement and who are familiar with the use of the appropriate tools.

Someone suggested that I avoid cluttering up the board by resurrecting very old threads, but perhaps a moderator can "quietly" insert a link to this correction?

Chris Hillman
 
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  • #2
Certainly a creative mind is behind those little essays. :smile:
 
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  • #3
Chris Hillman said:
Someone suggested that I avoid cluttering up the board by resurrecting very old threads, but perhaps a moderator can "quietly" insert a link to this correction?

Chris Hillman

Do you happen to know which thread this should go into?

Zz.
 
  • #4
Which thread?

Hi, ZapperZ, the thread I had in mind is the one cited in my post above ("orginally posted by clj4").
 
  • #5
Chris Hillman said:
Hi, ZapperZ, the thread I had in mind is the one cited in my post above ("orginally posted by clj4").

Yes, but which thread is that? Or are you asking me to go hunt for it myself?

:biggrin:

Zz.
 
  • #7
Hunt? No!

Hi, ZapperZ,

ZapperZ said:
Yes, but which thread is that? Or are you asking me to go hunt for it myself?

I am still a bit of a newbie at PF, so perhaps I don't know how to cite a thread yet, but if you follow the link in my initial post up above, where I quote the mistaken claim by clj4, "He is professor Ken Brown from Cornell" (wrong, the author of mathpages.com is named Kevin Brown) you should be taken to the thread in question. At least that's what happens when I try this!

MeJennifer said:

Right, that's the one I mean. Look for the post by clj4; I was suggesting that a correction be added to that thread by someone with elevated privileges at PF.
 
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  • #8
Kevin S Brown is PLAGARIZED

Hello I was wondering if anyone here is able to find contact information for Kevin S Brown. I am not sure if he is aware of it but his website is being plagarized by this person:

http://mathlectures.net/

I initially didnt think so and just thought the thief above was stealing content from normal blogs but according to this:


http://www.aboutus.org/MathLectures.net

It states that the website has been plagarizing from Kevin Browns website..

So if anyone knows the contact email or phone number from him can you please give it here or SEND an email or message to him telling him of this so he can take appropriate action!

Cheers!
 
  • #10
Ah fair enough then. Thank you for the very quick reply! Glad to know that the owner is on to the theft already!

Kind regards:)
 

1. Who is the author of mathpages.com?

The author of mathpages.com is Kevin Brown, a mathematician and physicist who has published numerous papers and books on mathematical topics.

2. What is the purpose of mathpages.com?

The purpose of mathpages.com is to provide a platform for the author, Kevin Brown, to share his insights and knowledge on various mathematical topics with the general public.

3. What kind of content can be found on mathpages.com?

Mathpages.com contains a wide range of content, including articles, essays, and interactive demonstrations, covering topics such as calculus, geometry, number theory, and more.

4. Is the content on mathpages.com reliable?

Yes, the content on mathpages.com is written and reviewed by a professional mathematician and physicist, making it a reliable source of information on mathematical concepts and theories.

5. Can I contact the author of mathpages.com for further questions or discussions?

Yes, there is a contact page on mathpages.com where you can send a message to the author, Kevin Brown. He also encourages discussions and comments on his articles and essays.

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