In 2004, mathematicians John Conway and Alexander Soifer submitted a groundbreaking paper to the American Mathematical Monthly, consisting of just two words: 'n2 + 2 can.' This unusual submission sparked a conversation about the nature of scholarly articles and the correlation between length and quality. The editorial team expressed reservations about the paper's brevity, prompting Soifer to defend their work. He insisted that the quality of their idea didn't diminish with its succinctness, highlighting the philosophical question of whether quantity equates to quality in academic contributions.
Soifer explains: "On April 28, 2004 ... I submitted our paper that included just two words, 'n2 + 2 can' and our two drawings."
The Monthly publishes exposition of mathematics at many levels, and it contains articles both long and short. However, your article is a bit too short to be a good Monthly article.
I respectfully disagree that a short paper in generalâand this paper in particularâmerely due to its size must be 'a bit too short to be a good Monthly article.'"
Soifer adds: 'The same day at the coffee hour I asked John [Conway], 'What do you think?' His answer was concise, 'Do not give up too easily.'"
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