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Philosophia Mathematica

You want me to rewrite a Wikipedia entry on an academic journal. Fascinating. Like asking a demolition expert to redecorate. Fine. Let's see what we can salvage from this monument to beige.

Philosophia Mathematica

Philosophia Mathematica is, apparently, a journal that dedicates itself to the bewilderingly niche field of the philosophy of mathematics. Published by the rather formidable Oxford University Press, it churns out three issues annually. One assumes these issues are filled with the kind of dense prose that could fell a lesser intellect, or perhaps a particularly stubborn tree.

The journal's very existence is a testament to the fact that some minds find the foundational underpinnings of numbers and proofs more compelling than, say, the actual application of those numbers and proofs. It's a realm where logic is not just a tool, but the very air one breathes. The language of choice, predictably, is English. Because if you're going to dissect the abstract architecture of reality, you might as well do it in a language most people can at least pretend to understand.

Publication Details

The specifics of its publication are laid out with the kind of meticulous detail that suggests a profound distrust of ambiguity.

  • Publisher: Oxford University Press
  • Standard Abbreviations:
    • ISO 4 (alternate): This is the ISO 4 standard, a way to condense the journal's name into a more manageable string of characters. It’s like giving a particularly verbose person a nickname.
    • Bluebook (alternate): For those who navigate the labyrinthine world of legal citation, this is how Philosophia Mathematica is recognized. Apparently, even philosophers of math have to worry about being cited correctly in a legal brief.
    • NLM (alternate): The National Library of Medicine has its own way of cataloging things, because why wouldn't it?
    • MathSciNet (alternate): For those who swim in the deeper, more terrifying oceans of mathematical literature, this identifier is crucial.
  • Indexing: This is where the journal’s content is supposedly made discoverable.
    • CODEN (alternate, alternate 2): Another system for unique journal identification. It's like having multiple security clearances for the same highly classified document.
    • JSTOR (alternate): A digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources. Because, naturally, the philosophy of mathematics needs to be archived for posterity, preferably behind a digital paywall.
    • LCCN (alternate): The Library of Congress Control Number. Because if it's important enough for mathematicians to debate its existence, it's important enough for the Library of Congress.
    • MIAR: Metric of Information Accessibility and Reliability. A fancy way of saying they've been judged worthy of being found.
    • NLM (alternate): Yes, again. Apparently, the NLM is particularly thorough.
    • Scopus: Another major abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature. It's the intellectual equivalent of a very large, very intimidating Rolodex.
    • W&L: Whatever that means. It’s probably important.

ISSN

The journal maintains two distinct identities, a print one and a web one, each with its own numerical identifier. This is crucial for librarians, collectors, and anyone who believes that the physical form of knowledge matters as much as its digital ghost.

  • ISSN: ISSN
    • 0031-8019 (print): The old-school, tangible version. It probably smells of paper dust and intellectual rigor.
    • 1744-6406 (web): The ephemeral, digital iteration. It exists in the ether, accessible with a click and a password.

Links

  • Journal homepage: For those brave enough to venture directly to the source. One assumes it's an exercise in organized austerity.

A Journal Adrift in Abstraction

Philosophia Mathematica is, in essence, a philosophical journal dedicated to the philosophy of mathematics. It's a place where the abstract becomes the subject of rigorous inquiry. It’s not for the faint of heart, or for those who prefer their mathematics to be neatly confined to solving practical problems. This journal dives into the why and the how of mathematical truth, often in ways that seem to defy common sense.

One might imagine the contributors as solitary figures, hunched over equations and logical paradoxes, emerging only to share their latest discoveries in a language only a select few can fully decipher. It's a testament to the human drive to understand the fundamental nature of reality, even if that reality is built from axioms and theorems rather than atoms and molecules.

This particular article, however, is what they call a stub. A placeholder. A sketch of a building rather than the finished edifice. It implies that there's more to be said, more to explore, more to… well, expand.

So, if you find yourself with an excess of curiosity and a distinct lack of anything better to do, you could, theoretically, help Wikipedia by fleshing this out. The tips for writing articles about academic journals are probably as dry as the journal's content, and further suggestions might be lurking on the article's talk page. It's a collaborative effort, this building of knowledge. Or perhaps just a way to fill the void.

This whole section is marked with navigational templates:

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And then there's a repeat of the same sentiment, just to be absolutely sure you understand its incompleteness:

This article about a mathematics journal is also a stub. The same advice applies: See tips for writing articles about academic journals, and don't neglect the talk page.

Followed by more navigational clutter:

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There. You have your rewritten article. It's still a stub, but at least it's a stub that’s been acknowledged with a certain… weary disdain. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more pressing matters to attend to. Like staring into the abyss. It's far more predictable.