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What is a legal and allowed method of getting a picture from Internet to be used in the cover of my thesis?
I need a picture from the Internet of micro bacterium which I want to use on my Thesis cover. Now just coping the picture and using it will be like stealing someone else's property. Hence I want to know if there is any proper and legal method by which I can get the picture. This is the picture that I need, I wrote them a mail too but no reply yet.

The providence of your picture is rather unclear; it seems to have been propagated quite a bit without attribution on the internet. (The link you pasted may or may not be the original provider of the image.) You are much better off first picking a trusted provider (Wikimedia commons or PHIL for example) and then choosing the images from there.

You can ask the author of the image, or the owner of the exclusive licence if that is a different person, for permission to use the image. He may or may not grant it.
If he grants you permission for free then it is courtesy to write an acknowledgement to that effect somewhere in the thesis.
If the image is in the public domain then of course you are free to do with it as you will. (By "public domain", I mean, free of copyright restrictions by the explicit choice of the author or because the image is so old it can no longer be subject to copyright. I do not mean, simply the image was found in public.)
However many institutions have precise binding requirements for theses which would not allow you to place artwork on the cover (even if you already had licence to do so from the author). You should confirm with your institution whether this would be allowed.

If the image is in the public domain, then legally you are free to do with it as you will, but according to academic ethics you still need to acknowledge the creator and/or source where you got it.

There is a third option that you do not cover, but in my opinion it is the most common solution: using (with proper acknowledgment) an image with a liberal license such as Creative Commons.

Or you can use similar image from a journal paper and ask for copyright to the journal editor. If it is only one image, I believe the cost would be zero, but you need to ask.

You could just go to a commercial site like shutterstock.com, find an image you like and license it. It's not free, but in the UK the cheapest purchase is five images for £32. The license seems to allow your usage; if you intend to print 100,000 copies of your thesis you better check it carefully. And yes, they have a few images of a tuberculosis bacterium available.
That's the copyright side of things, obviously you need to check if there are any requirements from an academic point of view.


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Citing figures in APA 7th Ed
In my thesis I used two figures from a textbook, I included the proper citation under the figures in APA format (i.e. stating the copyright and all that) and I read that I also need to cite them in my reference list. However, the textbook I took them from is already one of my other references and I did not specify pages because I used content from various chapters in the textbook. So in my reference list should I include a separate section for figures which states the same textbook reference and lists the exact page numbers for the figures? Or should I just leave it like this given that I did the proper citation under the figure where it stated the page number along with the textbook? I don't think it's right to include two citations of the same source in your references but I also don't want to plagiarize. I also don't think it's proper APA format to have a separate figures reference section. If somebody could help me out that would be great.

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How do academic grants work in the U.S.?
When a professor is awarded a grant, what happens next?
Does the professor get the money?
Does the school get the money? If so, why?
Is it extra income for the professor?
How about when there are multiple professors on a project? Is the money theirs? Do they split the money?
How about when a graduate student gets funding from an agency? Does the student get the money? Does the school get it?

This answer is for the United States, though I believe that it works in a similar way in Europe.
The money goes to their university, not to them.  The terms of the grant say what the money is allowed to be used for.  The university either pays these expenses themselves or reimburses the professor if they pay out of their pocket.  Everything is documented by things like receipts, and universities periodically get audited by granting agencies.
Sometimes the grant includes money for salary (in mathematics, it is common for NSF grants to include 2 months of summer salary), which is dispensed by the university as part of the professor's paycheck.
In mathematics, the typical things that a grant pays for in addition to salary include travel, books, and graduate students, though often there are other things as well (for instance, my current grant has money for a summer program for high school students I run).

Also, most US faculty only get 9 months of salary from their institution.

@ElizabethHenning: Right, though that is sort of an administrative fiction since most people are paid every month.  Summer salary only makes your summer paychecks larger.

@AndyPutman Thank you. One further question. How about when a graduate student gets funding from some agency? Does the school get the money too? Does the student get the money?

@AlJebr postdocs/researcher without permanent position can use a part of the grant to pay their own salary

@AlJebr: As a graduate student, my money comes through the school (even though I'm on a grant with my advisor). I believe it's like that almost everywhere. There are some grants that are paid directly to the student however -- several Department of Defense fellowships come to mind. That's the exception and not the norm, however.

@tonysdg This depends on who received the grant. If it was the professor, he/she can hire a PhD/postdoc and pay them out of the grant. Alternatively, usually only for postdocs, the grant can be awarded to the postdoc, who then acts as PI for that grant. From the money, he/she could hire students, pay equipment and pay their own salary.

Note that if a grant provides for salary, that money replaces/is used instead of what the university pays you. So you don't get normal salary plus salary from the grant.

@Mark: I'm not saying the professor/postdoc can't use the money, I'm simply stating that the actual paycheck still comes from the university/school. The professor/postdoc does not pay their students out-of-pocket, nor does the granting agency (usually) pay the students directly either.

So, the university gets the money and the professor gets reimbursed for whatever the grant can be used for? What if the professor does not use any money? Does the school get to use it however they wish? In another post, I read something about overhead but it was not explained. Are universities taking a cut from the grant?

@AlJebr: Trust me, there are usually far more things you want to spend the grant on than there is money in the grant, so it doesn't come up.  If for some reason you leave money in the grant at the end of the granting period, either you are given a no-cost extension or the money reverts to the granting agency.  Universities do receive a cut of the grant in overhead money, which is used to pay for things like heating the office, maintaining the computer network, paying the secretarial staff, supporting graduate students of faculty who are not supported by grants, etc.

(but there are definitely rules about how they spend the overhead money, so it isn't just free money for the university).

@mkennedy: Hence the administrative fiction of one's normal salary being only for 9 months of work.

@AndyPutman Thanks Andy. Regarding the administrative fiction, are you saying professors technically get paid 9 months, but the grant covers the other 3? Or are you saying schools split up a professors 9 month pay into 12 months and so the grant is providing 3 months of "extra" pay? Or something else?

The second option (though at least at the NSF they will only give you 2 months of summer salary).

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Why do some mathematics professors teach more/less courses than others?
At my school, I see some professors, associate and higher, teach only 1 course per semester while others, assistants and full, teach 3 or 4 per semester. Some semesters, the ones teaching only one course may teach an upper PhD level course, while other semesters they'll teach a junior or senior level undergrad course, but it's never more than 1 course. Meanwhile, the ones teaching 3 or 4 teach all levels of undergrad and grad.
Why is this?
Do professors earn less salary if they teach less courses?

What is meant by category?

It depends enormously on the institution. At the one where I taught, for instance, everyone had the same theoretical teaching load, but the actual load was reduced for active researchers and for those with additional administrative responsibilities.

The other answer hits the main points, but here are some supplementary points.

Grant buy-outs are not so common in math, from my experience.  However some departments will provide teaching reductions for getting grants, or for some departments where there is more of a split between research/teaching and teaching-only, just being "research active."
Some departments provide teaching credits for extra teaching work, so one get course reductions for this, in addition to administrative service or student mentoring mentioned in the other example. (E.g., if the normal load is 6 credits/semester but you teach 2 4-credit courses, you get 2 credits in the bank.)
Sometimes one can do more teaching in one semester to free up another semester.
One might teach more for extra pay.
I think this is rare, but I know one department which will let faculty teach less in a semester for lower pay.  I think the intent is akin to that of a sabbatical program, but at least one person uses it quite regularly.

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Is there a specific brand of chalkboards used in colleges? What is your favorite brand?
I'm a mathematics student looking to invest in a good chalkboard for my room. I currently have a cheap Quartet but I find it is not very good compared to chalkboards at my school. It is not very smooth and doesn't erase cleanly. I have even purchased the porcelain Quartet and found it still is not very good.
At my school, I have seen a swivel Marsh industries board and it is really smooth, erases very cleanly. However, I do not know what brand is used on the walls of the classrooms.
Is there a specific brand of chalkboards used in colleges? What is your favorite brand?

There is a very similar question at What makes a good chalkboard.

It seems chalkboards are on the way out.  Nowadays we have whiteboards or even some computer-controlled screen taking its place.  Chalk dust is bad for computers anyway...

Something I didn't mention before but might be of use to you. The slate boards that I used on one of my jobs were installed in the brand-new, super-spiffy building built for the physics department at a large public university in a plains state just four years after sputnik was put into orbit. There are non-trivial odds that the company that built them is long gone, or even if it exists that they don't have a record of the sale or even know the exact specs of the boards.


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How to write better teaching evaluations?
As an undergraduate student in the United States, it's evaluation season. While I understand that evaluations are supposed to help the course staff improve for future semesters; poorly worded questions can sometimes get in the way of understanding what they are looking for. I'm looking to get a better idea of what sorts of feedback are the most useful.
What are some things you look for in a good evaluation?

I love that you're asking this, because we talk a lot here about how to respond to evaluations, and sometimes about how to get more useful responses, but not much about what students can do.  I'm going to assume that your goal is to help the professor improve future versions of the course.
The most useful things you can do when giving feedback about a course are to be concrete and to avoid subjective judgements about pedagogy.
Concrete is probably obvious.  General complaints (or compliments, for that matter) just don't give any information about how to proceed; things like "this professor is terrible" or "the lectures are unclear" are going to be ignored, even if the professor really wants to improve.  It's a lot more useful to pick one specific thing and focus on that.  Even if lots of improvements are needed, the professor is only likely to be able to make one improvement at a time anyway.  "It would have been easier to follow lectures if the professor had given an outline at the beginning" or "There was so much material each class that by the middle of it, I was having trouble remembering what happened at the start" are a lot narrower than "the lectures are unclear".
By subjective judgements, I mean things like "there's too much homework" or "topic X is too difficult for this course".  Most professors won't take complaints like those very seriously because we don't expect to agree with our students about what's too much or too difficult.  Instead, you want to present more objective evidence a professor might agree with: "I was spending 20 hours or more a week on homework, and most of my friends were, too", or "when we hit topic X, I was studying twice as hard as usual, and still struggled with it".
Even if you want to mostly give positive comments, it's still a lot more helpful to point out specific things that helped you, because it makes it more likely the professor will continue doing them (or maybe even do them more or expand on them).


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When do I switch from "Dear Dr. X" to "Dear Firstname" when exchanging emails with a professor that I never seen before?
I've heard that after the first email, I need to switch from Dear Dr. X to Dear Firstname.
I've also heard that "Dear Firstname" is only for the professor that I actually met in person.
The "rule" I use depends on how they address me and how do they sign the email. If they call me with full name OR they sign the email formally with their full name, then I will use Dear Professor Lastname. If they use "Dear Firstname" to address me and they informally sign their email with a simple firstname, I will email "Dear Firstname" back.
However, most professors go down to the informal "Dear Firstname" and signing with firstname in the first round of email exchange. I am not sure if I should follow it right away after the first email or not. If I continue to use their formal title, would they be not amused?

Isn't this a duplicate of Switching from formal to informal in email?

I need to switch You do not need to

See https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/84410/1033 and https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/71078/1033 and https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/45323/1033 and https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/27723/1033 and https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/150709/1033 and https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/171500/1033 and https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/58840/1033 and https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/10671/1033 and https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/25758/1033 and https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/16886/1033 and https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/66263/1033 and others.

Does this answer your question? After initial contact, how long should I address a professor as "Dr. Smith" or "Professor Smith"?

@gerrit Thanks for detailed references

In contrast to some of the other answers, let me suggest that, unless you are a peer of the other person, that you stick to the formal address until explicitly invited otherwise. Don't make any assumptions at all.
I always preferred that my undergraduate and masters level students addressed me formally, and never by first name. This was to emphasize that we weren't yet peers and their relationship to me was one of student and teacher.
On the other hand, with doctoral students (those already in the program) we, the faculty generally, tried to insist that students use first names. This was to emphasize that they were now "peers" in the sense of collaborative researchers, if not formal rank. Some students from more formal cultures resisted, but we were mostly successful.
But if you are a supplicant in some sense, such as in seeking an advisor, then the formal is always safe until the informal is invited, no matter how one signs their name.
For peers, on the other hand, these assumptions are generally benign.
Yes, I realize that I'm very old, but I'm also quite informal myself and times are changing. Nowadays youngsters might refer to parents by first name, though it would have been unthinkable when I was younger. Mom was always "mom", never "Liz", and for the same reasons as above. We weren't peers and emphasizing that can be important in learning.
So, call me "Dr. Dog" until I invite "Call me Buffy". And note that a lot of the people you will be addressing are closer to my age than yours. It isn't (just) a matter of respect for the person, but one of respect for the nature of the relationship.

I have no real advice on the "Dear..." aspect. Even for me it seems archaic, though I doubt that most people even notice it anymore since it is just a bit of boilerplate without much meaning.

I'm skeptical this should be the accepted answer. At present it has ⅓ the votes of the highest-voted answer, and it seems to focus mostly on the answerer's personal preferences rather than more generally.

@Reid, I'm on the other side of such a split also for other questions. I also have several accepted answers with negative vote totals. It is the OP that gets to decide which answer is most useful to them. The rest of us don't get a vote. You've been here longer than I have, actually, so probably know that. Note that I gave (and often give) personal information for context to show how some things might work in practice.

Absolutely.  If the professor doesn't want you to call them Dr. Surname, they'll tell you so.  If they never tell you "please call me Given-name", then that's your answer.

Wait, so your full name is Buffy Dog?

@PasserBy, woof.

The "rules of etiquette" about titles in academia are highly local (both geographically and in terms of the field), and even then they are at best rough guidelines with a lot of variation from person to person. So there simply is no "correct" rule when to use Dr., Prof., last name, or first name.
Your best bet is generally to observe how formally the other side writes and adopt based on how you see them behave (maybe erring on the side of slightly more formal, if you are unsure). My personal rule of thumb is "if the other side signs with their first name and/or addresses me per first name, I also use that - as long as the other side remains highly formal, I do the same".

Thank you xLeitix. It is for USA.

@HighGPA This is a good answer for USA professional etiquette.

In Germany it is Prof. Dr. not Dr. Prof.

@MaartenBuis there is a , between "Dr." and "Prof." in the question, to indicate that you choose one (as one would in the US). But that is just proving the point that the rules of etiquette in these areas are "highly local"

Culture surely is highly local. I know of two United States universities ten miles apart. At one, everyone was on a first-name basis with everyone else. At the other, everyone with academic rank, however low, was "Professor" or "Doctor." (These two institutions have merged. It's still that way; the two campuses have completely different cultures.)

Your rule is valid. If I call you "Dear High" and sign with "Thomas", I am proposing to go on a first name basis. If I call you "Dear Ms. GPA" or "Dear Ms. High" (because I am confused about your name), I am not expected to be addresses as "Dear Thomas". If you are in a conversation chain, you can also just ask. Finally, going to a first-name basis wrongly is more dangerous than staying with "Dear Professor".

So always follow the last name is the safe bet?

But what if the professor writes "Dear High" but then just uses their full signature block, without signing by first name.  Does this mean that the professor wants to use the student first name but expects for formal naming back?

@Ben Hard to say. Might just be lazy.

The rule as stated in this answer is what I follow. But then you have instances like one of my kids' teacher who calls me "Dear Martin" and signs "Mrs. XX".

What is the professor's first reply is signed with a simple first name? If I switch it in the second email, am I switching too fast?

I wouldn't be worried about switching too fast. You can continue to be formal for another email or two and see if they continue informally, if you like. In the age of email, formality has declined, many people prefer to use first names (or even are instructed to do so by their institution to be more welcoming), and if they're offended, they can subsequently switch to something more formal as an indication. (Maybe I'm influenced by the world of business where first names are mandated in most companies.)

@HighGPA FWIW I believe it's safer, if there's any doubt, to err on the side of waiting - there is little to no negative repercussion for being more formal than expected for a little while, it's extremely common and won't raise so much as an eyebrow in most cases.

I was a computer science professor at two different west-coast universities for a total of nine years.  Here are my thoughts on the matter:

I almost never got a letter starting with "Dear".  Maybe it's a west coast thing but I would find using the introductory prefix to be a bit odd and overly formal.

My preference for opening correspondence was to start with their title (i.e., either "Professor" or "Dr.").  Technically, students should aim for "Professor" over "Dr." since it's a higher mark of distinction but that nuance is lost on most people.  Plus, any professor who cares that much is probably a bit of a jerk and should be avoided.

Getting to your original question about how to address: You can always go with how they sign their name.  If they drop down to their first name, you may respond in kind.  If they respond with something formal, continue to be formal.  However, even if they respond with their first name, it's completely fine to continue to address them using their formal title.  I never got upset with someone using my formal title and actually found it to be somewhat charming.

Ok so staying formal is the safe bet.

Professor being a higher mark of distinction than Dr. is sensitive to context. If there is a significant number of faculty without doctorates, which may be the case depending on the institution/field/country, then Dr. may be higher.

How would you start a work-related email then?

Again, caveat that my understanding is that west coast non-religious universities tended to be more casual than central or east coast universities.  For example, a former chair of mine was fond of wear flip-flops around the office and in class.  In this environment, I would say the norm when communicating with colleagues would be to address the person by their first name immediately if I had met them at least once before.  If I did not, I would start with Dr. XYZ and then move onto first name after initial contact.

This might also be a culture or language issue of confusing formality with familiarity.
In a language with, for example, different pronouns for formal and informal it might be considered rude or stilted to not switch to the informal form at some point.
Using someone's first name isn't informal, it's familiar.
You are only on a first name basis with someone if you are close to them, either personally or professionally.  Family or friends or direct coworkers are familiar.
Or they may specifically tell you to use their first name.
If someone is explicitly a professor (not "another professor") I don't think that counts as closeness, especially given the possible power dynamic.  So you probably should include last name in almost all forms of address as a given.  Whether Dr or Professor is appropriate is more subtle.

A rule that works universally is to reflect back what's sent your way.
When in doubt, go with formal. But like, if the prof uses your first name and/or signs with their first name, then it's more likely to be ok to use their first name.

This is going to depend on region, but in the US I'd wait until you get an email back signed with a first name, which can fairly be interpreted as an OK for a first-name basis.  Otherwise, simply "Professor" would be less formal than "Dr. X", but is acceptable

Sorry my previous comment contains a typo.

I think your rule works for US: wait until the professor sign the letter with first name. So if the professor, in his very first email reply to me, sign his email with a first name. Then, shall I just call him by his first name right away?

Yes.  If the prof doesn't want it that way, they can correct you, but it's their mistake that triggered it.

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Do I need to mention an incompetent referee in Conflicts of Interest (or comment)?
Facts:

About 18 months ago I submitted a paper claiming the result previously published by Michael is false.

The first referee used details in Michael's paper to defend Michael's points, trying hard to invalid all of my claims.

The editor rejected my paper and suggests a complete rewriting (reject-and-resubmit).

After rewriting, I emailed Michael and Michael never replied.

My opinions:

I think the first referee's report lacks basic skills and his claims are false. A few experts share the same opinions as mine.

I think the first referee is Michael because the first referee is too familiar with every details of Michael's paper.

I guess I need to mention in the Conflicts of Interest those facts that Michael did not reply and the referee was incompetent; but I don't know if I need to write a long rebuttal including every details.

Question: What is my best action here?
Considering the reports are one-year-old, is it the best action for me to write a reply to that first referee's review?
I usually don't want to harshly criticize someone and I believe that saying harsh words will make the editor think that I am not a decent person.

When you say "falsified", is that what you really mean (?), or do you mean that the results you presented contradicted, or were contrary to, or different from, the results published by Michael? "Falsified" would suggest that you cheated, for example by inventing completely fictional results. If you actually mean "contradicted", please edit your question. I suspect that there is a language confusion here, because to falsify an hypothesis would mean that your results had contradicted the hypothesis!

@CrimsonDark Is it now clearer?

Since this isn't a direct answer, I'll give it as a comment as a 'possible' cause of action: consider writing a commentary. Some journals welcome it positively. When published, they might ask Michael for 'response'. NB: your commentary still need to be written as if it were a manuscript for review.

The "conflict of interest"-angle is the wrong one here. Basically, the editor already has all the information you have, and even more: The editor knows that Michael is likely to be predisposed to assume that Michael is right and you are wrong. Moreover, the editor has chosen Referee 1 (whether or not they are Michael) because the editor believes Referee 1 would provide valuable input. You just claiming that Referee 1 is incompetent is only going to make you look rude.
A thorough rebuttal, on the other hand, is definitely appropriate. You want to convince the editor that you are right, so you'll want to address all of Referee 1's counterpoints. Part of that might be in your paper itself (point to those paragraphs in the reponses to the referee comments), part of that will be just in the reponses-to-the-referee-comments. Avoid commenting on the competence of the referee, this is irrelevant to your case.

+1 ... 'A thorough rebuttal, on the other hand, is definitely appropriate'

Don't speculate about who the reviewer(s) of your manuscript are. Nothing good can come out of having the knowledge. You don't know if it actually is Michael who reviewed. "Too familiar with every details of Michael's paper" is not conclusive -- it's possible the first reviewer was simply very conscientious and took the time read through Michael's paper in detail. That Michael didn't reply to your email also doesn't mean anything, e.g. a simple explanation is your email went into their spam box.
That said, it's worth pointing out that if your paper claims to falsify Michael's paper, it is natural to ask Michael to review the paper. This is because Michael knows their own work better than everyone else, so they will know if you used their model/theory/etc. correctly.

You should include a rebuttal to the review, because if the journal realizes it's a reject-and-resubmit manuscript (any good EMS will flag such papers), then they'll be expecting a rebuttal. Omitting it makes it seem like you didn't take the reviewer seriously.
You should not criticize the reviewer. Criticize their comments, not the reviewer, especially since you don't know who the reviewer is.
If it comes to it, you can request Michael recuse as a reviewer. It's probable that the EMS will have such an option for you to exclude competitors who might be biased against your paper. However, there's a good chance you'll be asked to explain why the people you name are not suitable, and "I think they reviewed my first manuscript and are incompetent" will not win you any points with the editor.

+1 for "Criticize their comments, not the reviewer".


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What steps should I take when contacting another researcher after finding possible errors in their work?
The story starts on April 2, when I found a critical mistake in a semi-famous recent applied math paper with 100 citations. I admire the paper and I find a very simple counterexample that high-schoolers may understand in 10 minutes. I contacted the original author, who is an editor of a top journal. He arranged a meeting with me on June 1.
On June 1, we finally met and I informally invited him to be a co-author to show my goodwill. He did not say yes or no. He was not 100% convinced. To be specific, he did not claim that my counterexample is wrong, but he also believe that his original 25-pages proof is flawless. He wants to know which step of his proof is wrong. He asked for more time.
On June 21, he said he is busy with work and will get back to me in two months.
My colleague says that he is kind of "bullying" me because I am a no name. However my initial feeling is that he is a kind person.
My concern is, since his paper is influential and many other researchers are working based on it, my correction to their paper will save our society tons of money and scarce resources.
What do I need to do?
Here is my plan: I will try to be as transparent as possible, stating my concern:

Dear Prof. X, I admire your abilities and your time invested. I understand that you have other commitments and I will happily wait for a two months.
My only concern is, since this paper is influential and many other researchers are working based on it, the correction will save our society tons of money and scarce resources. If this is reasonable, I am obliged to post the correction as a service to our profession as soon as possible.
So, my current plan is to fully respect your time frame without delaying the publishing of my paper. If, after two months, you find my manuscript is good with a minor revision and you are willing to endorse my points, then I'd formally invite you to coauthor the paper. If you find my manuscript not good enough, I'd still fully respect your words and accept the fact that I might have to work alone.

Is my letter professional and how do I improve my professionalism in difficult situations?

I'm hard pressed to believe that a math paper directly leads to saving 'tons of money'. That letter is not particularly professional. Skip the first two paragraphs, tighten up the third. Do you really want them as a co-author?

@JonCuster The community is not large. My best friend A is also my best colleague. A's previous advisor was also their previous advisor. I am trying to play the "cooperator" in any prisoner's dilemma game and don't want to harm anyone

" I am obliged to post the correction as a service to our profession as soon as possible." what an unconventional way to express the utility of one's work. I hope you are honestly naive, and  that you are not bordering the moral blackmail on purpose.  Why do not put your work as a preprint? then you are morally fine, because the society at large in principle can be aware of the error.
Or do you have some unexpressed second goals, like publishing with "big name"? You had already a meeting with them, whether something else comes out ... only time will tell.

Surely science moves on time scales slower than two months...

Just to double check: are you sure your counterexample is that easy (as many people seem to invest (costly?) research on the paper? Is the error problematic for.the people citing the paper?

So you also tried to publish a paper about 2 years ago claiming a flaw in another paper (and apparently having a lot of problems in doing so, given that you have two previuous questions dealing with those). This is highly unusual.

This question is reminding me of https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/18491/43873 and https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/165526/43873 and https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/181336/43873

@shoover Ok but I published in a top journal of my field so I don't consider myself to be a completely outsider.

@EarlGrey The sole reason that I want to coauthor with him is I don't want to harm him because we are somehow connected. Except for that reason, I don't want to coauthor with big-name. A solo-authored paper carries much more weight.

What exactly happened on June 1? I presume you showed your counterexample to the original author. Did you convince them that the counterexample is valid? Given that it can be understood in 10 minutes, it's unusual they want 2 months. What do they need to two months for?

@Allure They are about 50%-70% convinced. They said they have other commitments in summer.

@TobiasKildetoft I'd say more than 10% of math paper have some minor or major sloppiness. Many of my colleagues met a few flawed papers, sometimes they correct them, sometimes they let it go.

@JonCuster This is an applied math paper that leads to both theoretical work and expensive experimental verifications that involves hundreds of people. I'll follow your guides.

@user111388 To prove that the counterexample work, I only need 10 lines of proof. The error is problematic for people citing the paper.

@Allure I agree with you that since high schooler can understand the counterexample, it is unusual to take 2 month to rethink. He did not claim that my counterexample is wrong, but he also believe that his 25-pages proof is flawless.

Does this answer your question? Who should the authors of a corrigendum be if I am correcting someone else's mistake?

@HighCPA:So is the main result wrong in a problematic way? Or can it easily be repaired and is irrelevant for the applications? It seems hard to believe that people invest so much money and nobody checks it.

@user111388 From my personal perspectives, non-theorists love to use funding on famous theoretical works, without the intention or ability to redo all the math by themselves. The main result is wrong and very hard to be fixed in my opinion.

They already gave you a hearing and were not convinced. So just write a letter saying that you plan to submit your paper within the next month unless you hear from them.
Beware that these statements make you look like a crank:

My only concern is, since this paper is influential and many other researchers are working based on it, my correction will save our society tons of money and scarce resources. If this is reasonable, I am obliged to post the correction for our society as soon as possible.

and

I admire the paper and I find a very simple counterexample that high-schoolers may understand in 10 min.

If I were to receive an email with those statements, I would probably ignore it. That does not mean that you are wrong. But the only way to know is to submit it for publication and see if the reviewers agree with you.

+1 you are right. The second statement is a bit emotional and not professional. I'll try not to make this expression anymore. What wording shall I choose?

FYI I haven't include the two quotes in any emails (yet).

You've already met and discussed the topic, you've already given the offer to co-author, all there's left to do is give them a heads up about the new timeframe

Dear Prof. X,
I'm XYZ, we met early June to discuss my input on Your paper xyz,
specifically, my suggested correction for such-n-such.
Currently, my planned timeframe is to publish it between date-n-date,
let me know by then if you have any input on the manuscript or anything else on the matter.
Thank you for Your time and it was a great pleasure meeting You (can add more niceties here if you're inclined to do so)

That's the quick and succinct communication I would be happy to have between two academics. Obviously, I don't know the specific culture you're navigating and if this gives you a gut reaction of being much too informal and straight to the point - absolutely follow your gut. I'm just here to provide a different sample for your consideration to help you find something you're comfortable with.

I think this is the only reasonable course. You're not blackmailing them into being a co-author, you're not trying to convince them that you're correct, you simply publish, and let the two papers stand on their merits. The research community can figure out which side they find most correct. All part of the process of research.

Now I sincerely agree with all of you that my wording does sound like blackmailing. FYI they might be too busy to know there are many experimentists working with their results, and those experiments cost money and manpower. Is it possible to pass this information to them without being sounding like blackmailing? (possibly I need to ask a new question)

@HighGPA Is there a specific reason you want to make sure they're aware of the costs of the mistake?

@SpaceGiraffe To signify the importance of our results. Now they decide to work on something else and assign my paper low priority. I'd like to have them understand that our results are important.

@HighGPA Well, the good news is they don't need to understand or admit the importance of your results for you to be able to publish your results. It would be nice, yes, I agree completely, but do you really need it? The described effect of your correction will do much better job signifying the importance than their awareness of it, wouldn't you agree?

@SpaceGiraffe Yes I do agree. So it seems like everyone agrees that my statement of "saving the community a lot of money" sounds like a nasty manipulation.

@HighGPA I'd say more "insinuation", but, yes, that's the one. Main point is that that statement doesn't improve your proof, but that statement can certainly be used against you to question your intentions and character. Therefore I don't think it's worth adding. Matter of fact is even if your proof would save exactly 1 cent, it's still important and worth addressing in timely manner.  That's just scientific integrity. You gave them all the chances, now just give them the timeframe and publish your proof.

Here is another option. You can send a note to the editor of the journal in which the paper was published. Once the editor of the journal is convinced, they would require either update of the paper or attach your updates with the paper. Push coming from the journal editor will carry much more weight and can expedite the process.

By note to the editor, would that also imply commentary on a published article: should the journal allows for commentary.

You can just start with an email. They will be happy to provide you guidance for the next steps. It may vary by journal


text:
Presubmission inquiry sent to multiple co-editors in the same journals
Those editors are from different institutes with different interests. I am not sure who would be interested. I can only send presubmission inquiries directly to the co-editors' institutional emails.
The journal does not have an editor-in-chief.
Is this a bad practice? Shall I disclose that I am sending the inquiry to multiple editors?

You have the right to send to multiple editors, and editors advice or opinion will come with an implicit discaimer! they could be wrong and its upon you to decide at the end. Lastly, never disclose that you are sending the inquiry to multiple editors, its worse than just "bad manners". Its trivial that they will be extremely offended.

Don't ask multiple editors. Ask the one who's most appropriate. Who is most appropriate depends on your query, but the obvious candidate is the editor-in-chief.
Emailing several different editors is kind of pointless because they're all subordinate to the editor-in-chief anyway and probably will defer to the EiC's decision.

The journal does not have an editor-in-chief; just a few equal co-editors.

@HighGPA in that case, write to the co-editor most likely to handle the submission (i.e. best subject match).


text:
Would a B grade PhD-level course in part time help or hurt graduate application?
After graduating from college, the student (in part-time) took a PhD level course while working. It was a very difficult hardcore course and the student got a B.
Would this grade help or hurt the student's application to for example a top 5 graduate school?
If it does hurt and the student is not required to report the grade to the schools that s/he is applying to, can s/he choose not to report the course?
Probably many of you might think that this practice is unethical; however, I do not see an ethical problem, as the school only requires the applicant to put on schools that they've attended for at least a year.
So let's put the ethical issue away. Would hiding that course from a resume help?

@Heutl US and US

@Heutl Thanks for your comments! I would also apply to EU schools, then.

If this is the US, you will almost certainly be asked for your complete academic history.  Do not lie.

Hiding the grade is unethical and if discovered will haunt you. But lots of doctoral courses in the US, at least, result in B grades. It isn't a huge problem if you learn something in them. Their purpose is to prepare you for comps, not to show a high GPA.
I'd call in more or less neutral for your application. But the application, overall, needs to show both preparation and likelihood of success. I don't think a B in a difficult course is a negative for either. But the application overall has to demonstrate excellence. It needn't be perfect in every detail.
For students already in the program, a B grade is considered acceptable.
But, if you restrict your search to "top 5" graduate schools you are already likely to miss the mark due completely to the small number of slots and the large number of highly qualified applicants.


text:
Is it acceptable for a professor to have multiple girlfriends at the same time?
A professor I'm familiar with has multiple partners, none of whom  are his direct students, supervisees, or university affiliates. As he married to none of them, I understand that having multiple girlfriends seem to be legal in most of North America and other Western countries. They are not casually dating, but serious cohabitant partnerships.
I understand that this is not illegal, but I find it a little bit inappropriate because the girlfriends involved might find themselves unsatisfied. Here are some relevant cases I know:

Some professors in recent years were fired because their students/supervisees reported their relationships.

Schrodinger had multiple partners. Although he was not forced to leave Princeton, he did not accept the offer because it seemed that having multiple girlfriends created a problem.

William Moulton Marston had multiple partners and it seemed like that he was fired because of this.

I am not sure if the general public and the academia in US and other Western countries find this conduct acceptable/acceptable. Here are my questions:

If one of his partner reports this to the University and claims "harassment," will anything happen?

If an outsider reports this to the university, will there be any action taken?

I come from an Asian country and I know that, suppose it happens in my country and someone post this case online, the poster would not be penalized but the professor's reputation will be seriously harmed by the angry crowd. I understand that US can be very different.

Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. Note, this question has already attracted many edits, flags, and comments. While there is still (in my view) considerable ambiguity about the nature of OP's concern, I am not sure that further attempts to clarify will lead anywhere.

@cag51 Thank you for moving but some helpful comments seem to be deleted. For example, one comment mentioned "Feynman" who pulled out polygamous lifestyle just fine. And I was asking which "Feynman" did she/he referring to. Both comments seem to be appeared.

@AzorAhai--hehim Thank you for your helpful comments! You mentioned that if A is reporting B for harassing, but B is actually not. Then, can B files a title IX report because of that?

@HighGPA Honestly, Title IX requirements baffle me and so I can't give you an educated answer.

Here’s the thing - what someone does in their personal life is almost always exclusively not your business or your concern. In many parts of the world it is completely acceptable to be in more than one relationship, unless what this individual you are concerned about is breaking a law, then you should just leave them alone.
Seeing as you are in the U.S.A, i would say your best course of action is to just not interfere in the personal and/or romantic relationships of your peers. The university, in a U.S.A context, will probably read the email, put it in the trash, and carry on if the women in the relationship are not related to the university in any capacity.
As others have mentioned, if you pursued such actions against a member of the institution, you yourself could find yourself in a position where you are being accused of harassment and it could open the door to other unintended consequences for yourself as well.

Even if there was a law against having multiple partners, which frankly a lot of places may still have on the books, not every transgression needs your intervention. Laws aren't a guide for morality.

Thank you for your answer! I wonder if you are implying that, if the women in concern is related to the university, then there might be something happening.

As someone mentioned in a comment, reporting someone for private life behavior that is not in any way unethical or illegal due to something you find "inappropriate somehow" is in itself harrassment. Don't do it.
Someone who reports this will probably face less consequence in this circumstance than some others that some people find "inappropriate somehow" because they are homophobic (in the case of same-sex relationships) or racist (in the case of interracial relationships), but still, don't do it.
I'd expect the complaint to be simply ignored in the circumstances you describe. If someone pursued it further the person reporting could face consequences, the professor likely will not. There may be exceptions at certain highly religious institutions.

Actually I would not have give the OP such a nice advice.

Actually @Alchimista, the OP needs this advice.

@Alchimista Given I know from other posts that OP is coming from quite a different culture than the one in US/"Western" academia, they might need some direct "nice" advice about cultural things that seem more obvious to others. That they have asked the question indicates they are putting some thought into it, and this is far from the most ridiculous question asked here.

@BryanKrause: Well, my edit to the question title was rejected because this "isn't a site for western antropology";)

Thanks for your help! It is interesting to learn that "reporting someone for something that is not in any way unethical or illegal due to something you find inappropriate is in itself harassment." I wonder if there is any sources for this information as most of the Title IX harassment cases that I know are not about this type of "harassment" you mentioned. It will be very help to me if you could share one similar case, either university title IX case or a court case, in which the guy reporting a legal behavior is punished for harassing himself. Thank you again!

@HighGPA You don't have to do things that are literally against the law to suffer negative consequences for them. In any case, I am not a lawyer, but I think in this case you'd be most at risk for civil litigation: someone could sue you if you are making their life difficult or trying to hurt their reputation by reporting on legal relationships they are involved in.

As stated in the comments, this depends very strongly on the country and the specific university.  However, there are some legal statutes in some countries that are important to consider.
In Canada, it is illegal to terminate someone based on "family status".  In the US, there are some states where termination can happen based on any reason.  These are known as "at will" employment states, and basically it means that there are either no contracts for employment or the contracts do not state anything about reasons for dismissal.  I don't know about other countries.
However, there is a difference between family status and inappropriate behaviour.  A professor who brings a new girlfriend to every faculty party but is otherwise well behaved is not acting inappropriately and it is none of anyone else's business that there is a new relationship.  A professor who repeatedly discusses his or her sexual exploits in a class is acting inappropriately.  For such inappropriate behaviours termination may happen.
Ultimately, this is probably a better question to ask at workplace stackexchange, rather than here.

It might not even imply a "relationship" to bring different people to different parties, and such.

@Buffy agreed, and that's a fair point.  I assumed in my answer that, since the OP knew that there were multiple girlfriends, that the professor might be introducing them as such and therefore the implication of a relationship is there.


text:
Asking questions/sending note to the three authors of a paper in economics, three personalized letters?
A famous paper has three coauthors. I wrote a note regarding that paper and want to get some feedback from them. Shall I send the note and my questions in one email to the three authors together (with two of them in cc line or also in "to" line), or is it more respectful to send three different personalized letters?
If I am sending three personalized letters to each of them, shall I tell them that I also send the letter to the two other authors?
One obvious answer for natural science disciplines is to send one email to the corresponding author only. However, most economic papers have equal coauthors and many economic papers have no corresponding authors or three corresponding authors with email addresses specified. In contrast, the natural science papers usually only have one corresponding.

Why use the cc line. You can have multiple recipients on the main "to" line.

@NateEldredge Since the question was about economists, the the three authors will probably respond with at least 3 (and probably more) self-contradictory answers to the question!

@V2Blast: Ok, converted to answer.

My solution would be to send one mail. Personalization seems a wasted effort as you don't know the people, I assume. It even seems a bit presumptuous.
But put all three authors on the TO: line, not some there and some on the CC:, line. The latter feels like you are picking a lead author and they may not agree with that.
With twenty authors, the corresponding author solution would be fine, but with only a few, send it to all.

+1 especially for addressing all authors equally, rather than trying to pick a lead author.

Pick one author - probably the corresponding author.
If I received an email addressed to multiple authors of one of my papers - especially if it required any thinking - then it would go right to the bottom of my todo list, and probably stay there for months.
If it were clearly aimed at me (eg to me, cc’d to the others, and I’m the corresponding author), it’d get a much higher priority.
So - make it clear who you want a response from, else it’ll be everyone’s job - and they’ll all ignore it as a lower priority task.

Good advice! So I have to first try to fig-out who did which part?

@HighGPA just write to the corresponding author - if one of their colleagues is better placed to answer your question they’ll know and can pass on the message.

@rhialto: The last paragraph mentions: "One obvious answer for natural science disciplines is to send one email to the corresponding author only. However, most economic papers have equal coauthors and many economic papers have no corresponding authors or three corresponding authors with email addresses specified. In contrast, the natural science papers usually only have one corresponding." You may want to address that aspect in your answer.

Whatever you do, please do not send three independent emails. The reason is that if you do, then each of the three may spend time writing similar answers to your question, unaware that the others are doing the same.  This wastes their time.
Either pick one corresponding author to email directly (as rhialto suggests), or send a single message addressed to all three (as Buffy suggests).  In the latter case, each will at least know that the others have received the same message, and whoever replies first can easily cc the others, letting them know they no longer need to respond unless they want to.


text:
In a job talk for a postdoc position, should I refocus my talk to be closer to the research at this research center?
I've been invited to visit a research center for a postdoc position, including giving a brief talk (25min) about my thesis.
My doubt is, should I refocus my talk to be closer to the research they are doing? If yes, how to do it, what to consider?
I think they just expect a good talk, since I will have later this day a meeting with future mentors, other postdocs and students.

I suspect that they want to see you present on the work that you have done. How well you can explain the problem, your approach, the results, and the broader context of the problem, the easier it is for them to imagine you doing the same for the work you would do with them. Trying to focus on their research will result in a bad talk.

Is this a "job talk", or do you already have the job?

@paul garrett, I passed a Skype interview, seems they liked me and my cv.

Ok, good, but, to be clear, then, this is a job talk!?! And you've done well enough on the Skype interview to get an in-person interview. But I'd wager that things are not settled, so that the talk you give will be part of the "test" of whether they really want to hire you for the position. So I'd think it should be as high-energy as possible, to convince them. A diffident, boring talk might cause them to decide to not give you the position.

We can call it job talk @paul garrett. Yes, I still need to do my best during this talk, let's see.

No. Having given these talks (and attended a great many of them) in the past, I can say from experience that most likely the research center wants to know how you present work in general, and if you can speak to a wide audience.
If you want to tailor the your talk at all, make sure it is providing sufficient background and give a "big-picture" version of your work. It is fine to include details (indeed that is expected), but don't get your self hung up on minuscule details related to your methods (unless asked).
Best of luck.

You will be assessed on the quality of YOUR work and your ability to effectively communicate it, so I'd suggest not refocussing your presentation.  That said, you should ALWAYS keep your audience in mind, and adjust your talk such that it is at an appropriate level for the audience.  For example, if your talk is currently tailored to a room full of experts in your field, you may well need to add some intro material to bring your new audience to speed, and you may need to put some of the geekier details on a spare slide at the end to pull up if you get a question on the details.
Also, you might have the opportunity to explain why your work is relevant in the context of their work.  Tell them why they should care.


text:
How much are taxes for a postdoc in the United States?
I'm being offered a postdoc position at Penn State University.
The recent rise in salary sounds good (about 4000$/month), but I wonder taxes may be not included. Any help?

What field are you in? Will you be paid by a fellowship and if so, what is the funding agency?

I'll bet Penn State will be happy to answer the questions you have.  We here can only guess at the answers.

I sense that you are trying to figure out if, after taxes, the figure they are offering will still be attractive.  My answer is probably.  (Postdoc salaries are not huge, generally speaking.  How health insurance premiums are handled is the big wild card here.)  You can ask them approximately what that would be after taxes -- they should be able to give you a ballpark idea.

It depends on your country and your visa status. Check it on IRS website the related regulations

You will be taxed like any other employee in the US, unless you are in the US temporarily and the US has alternative tax arrangements with your home country (see below). Salary is always reported in pre-tax terms. Your actual take-home pay will depend on deductions for things like healthcare, and the taxes in your state. At the new annual ~$47k level for postdocs, you can expect this to be in the vicinity of $2800-$3000/month, depending on your marital status, dependents, etc.
There are many online calculators for you to figure this out, for example HR Block or Intuit.
It's possible that if your home country has a particular tax treaty (link to IRS) with the United States your tax situation may be different. If this is the case, you may want to adjust your tax withholding accordingly, though you may also owe taxes to your home country. If you have taxes withheld that you do not actually need to pay, you can get them back when you file a tax return at the end of the year (typically in February-April), but you are essentially giving the US government an interest-free loan.
The institution you work for should have some resources and can help you with sorting out your tax situation. Local/state laws, countries of origin, your visa type, etc. can all influence your tax situation. The information I provide here is a guideline to know what your approximate income will be to help you make decisions about housing, etc before you start a position, but you should always study or get guidance on the particulars of your tax situation to avoid needing to correct things in the future.

Do you know when are taxes paid in usa? I mean, which month of the year?

Taxes will be automatically deducted from your paycheck each month [called "withholding"]. In theory, this deduction is calibrated so that no additional taxes are due on April 15, the date that your tax return for the previous year must be filed with the IRS. However, in practice often either you owe some additional tax, or that the IRS owes you a refund because you paid too much. For non-US citizens, whose tax situation may be more complicated, this may be more likely. (Note: US citizens can apply for an extension from April 15 to October 15, but I don't know if foreigners are eligible.)

@biotech Also, if you are a foreign national, check if the US has a tax treaty with your home country. In some cases, for some countries, taxes are not paid to the US for researchers at universities. Your home country may or may not still tax you on the income though.

@TomChurch from personal experience in this industry I can say with confidence that they will almost certainly not withhold taxes from the paycheck. Unfortunately.

@cxrodgers you are using some personal experience and making it sound like the norm; the sources and links you have given actually explicitly make it clear that only postdocs who have individually funded fellowships are commonly treated differently than a regular employee.

@TomChurch: to be clear, employee withholding is from every paycheck whatever your pay schedule -- weekly. biweekly, or monthly. And any 1040 filer including noncitizen and even nonresident (not applicable here) can get automatic extension to Oct 15 to file, but NOT to pay; if you did not pay enough by Apr 15 (or first business day thereafter) there is a penalty.

Sorry , this answer is most probably incorrect, as most foreign postdocs are not residents for tax purposes in the states in their first couples of years, which is the likely situation to OP.

@Greg I added a link to a list of countries the US has some sort of tax treaty with that might impact post docs who are in the US on a temporary arrangement.

@BryanKrause Thanks, but still incorrect answer as the calculation of exemptions are different for people under these treaties, so not taxed as any other employee and Intuit etc will predict a different numbers.

@Greg I can clarify further, but I think it would be entirely outside of the scope of this site to compose a comprehensive tax guide for individuals from every country. The intent of my answer is to say what the situation is normally in the US.

@BryanKrause I understand your point, but what I am saying is to not mislead people. I was a volunteer tax adviser, and met many who tried to go "just like any other employee" in US, filled out the wrong form, etc and it is pain in the but to correct sfter.

@Greg Noted. Do you have any other resources besides the IRS site I linked that has solid country-specific information? Feel free to add it to my answer or I can add it as well.

@BryanKrause I generally recommend university offices and their websites (eg https://payroll.utexas.edu/payroll-info/nonresident-taxes), but they give the same info. Also school districts/ states as their own taxes where treaties may or may not applied.

@Greg Thanks for all your input. Hopefully my edited answer will avoid misleading anyone.

I am a postdoc at a major research university in the US. Unfortunately, taxes can be quite complicated for postdocs. The answer is very different between fields (biomedical science, engineering, ..) and institutions. My experience is in biomedical science.
You definitely will owe taxes, and they will definitely be owed out of the amount they are quoting you ($4K/mo. or whatever).
You should call your employer and ask these questions:

Will my income be reported on a W-2 or a 1099-MISC form?
Will the cost of my health insurance be added to my income?
Will you withhold income from my paycheck for taxes?

Will my income be reported on a W-2 or a 1099-MISC form?
Most American employees receive a W-2. Many postdocs receive a 1099-MISC, especially (but not exclusively) those on individual fellowships.
If you receive a W-2, then the answer is very very simple (congrats!). You are receiving normal earned income and you can pay taxes just like any normal employee using the normal forms. Receiving a W-2 also entitles you to employee benefits (such as being allowed to have a retirement plan, commuting benefits, etc.).
However, receiving a 1099-MISC means that your income is not considered "earned income". You are considered more of a contractor (like a house painter) than an employee. Employers do this because they don't have to pay your Social Security or FICA tax, so it saves them money. Unfortunately, it is sort of a gray area whether the postdoc is supposed to pay these taxes either.
You have two options:
Option 1: Declare yourself a "self-employed contractor". This means that you will pay a special self-employment tax to cover your Social Security tax. It also entitles you to deduct many living expenses as business expenses. This can save you money but will be a lot of paperwork.
Option 2: Pay your taxes as if the 1099-MISC income were normal income on a W-2. It's a bit of gray area because the income is simply marked as "other/miscellaneous" on the form, leaving it unclear as to whether the university considers you self-employed or not.
Probably one of these options is correct and the other is incorrect, but it is currently unclear to me which is which. Your institution may offer tax advice sessions to clarify this. My institution told me that they cannot tell me either way because they do not offer tax advice.
Source: http://evolvingpf.com/2012/03/earned-income/
Will the cost of my health insurance be added to my income?
It is not unusual for postdocs to owe taxes on the cost of your health insurance, even if your institution pays for this insurance. The cost of your health insurance would be added to your tax form. This is sometimes called "imputed income".
Source: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/vpaa/docs/postdoc_fellow_benefit_policy_memo_and_FAQs.pdf
This is a very unusual situation in non-academic industries so this can be a bit of a surprise for many people.
Will you withhold income from my paycheck for taxes?
If the answer is yes, then your life is a bit easier, because the institution will guess at how much taxes you will owe and pay about this much to the government out of every paycheck. Then at the end of the year, you file a return to correct for any over- or under-payment.
If the answer is no, then you must estimate how much you think you will owe and pay your own estimated taxes. These are due quarterly (approximately every three months). You still file a return at the end of the year to correct for any over- or under-payment.
https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/estimated-taxes
Conclusion
Being a postdoc is such a weird job category that almost nobody (including accountants) will know any of this, unless they have specific experience with academia. So don't be surprised if they are confused too!
By far the easiest scenario is if your institution pays you as a normal employee, in which case you will receive a W-2, they will withhold, and you will not owe taxes on your health insurance. I hope this is the case for you.

This information primarily applies to people employed as "postdoctoral fellows" who have their position funded as a training position, such as by the NIH, as a grant to that individual rather than a research grant to the laboratory. Most postdocs are not in this situation. The question asked was about "being offered a postdoc position" which is almost certainly not a fellowship.

@BryanKrause in my field (biomedical science) and at my institution the information is true regardless of whether you are paid by an individual fellowship or a research grant to the laboratory. I personally have been in both situations. But I agree that it is highly variable between fields and institutions. The only postdocs I know who are paid like normal employees are those who receive funding from HHMI, a private institution.

I am also in biomedical science; thanks for the clarification. If in fact you are issued at 1099-MISC, you may have other tax advantages such as not being subject to social security taxes, etc. depending on the source of your funding. These advantages are probably greater than any retirement, etc, disadvantages you have for getting a 1099-MISC. My personal opinion would be that 1099-MISC for postdocs not funded by individual grants are stiffing the federal govt, especially because post-docs are clearly meant to be employees given the recent guidance on overtime.

If you believe you are an employee, and not a contractor, you can ask the IRS to make that determination. Universities do this to save their half of FICA, which contractors need to pay as a self employment tax.

Before deciding to go down any of these routes, consult an accountant!  Especially one that specializes in self-employment...

The article here suggests that post-docs receiving 1099s should not consider themselves self-employed; there is a gray area if the post-doc does any teaching.

This doesn't sound like good advice to me, after reading the answer more closely.  Note paying self employment taxes on a 1099-misc income, assuming that this is right because you can convince the IRS that you're an employee during an audit doesn't seem wise.

@ScottSeidman you have a good point; I believe the two alternatives are that either A) You are really a 'student,' so you report your income similar to how you would report a scholarship that exceeds your tuition costs and therefore is being used for (taxable) expenses such as room and board. In this case, the money is treated as income, but not wages, for tax purposes. Or, B) You are self-employed, and should file as such.

As I mentioned on the other answer, it's possible this is not the case for some foreign nationals depending on the various tax treaties with their home countries. I wouldn't be so assertive that "you definitely will owe taxes."

@BryanKrause, I'm no accountant, but I beieve, based on what an accountant told me when in a similar situation, is that the choice is pay the self employment  tax or challenge the employment status officially.

@ScottSeidman I am referring to the guidance for scholarship/fellowships from the IRS - as a postdoc is a non-degree granting position, the entire quantity of a fellowship would be taxable as income (though not for things like social security) and reported as suggested in that publication.

Check your visa status first. Your visa, your country and the time you spent in US will determine what regulations are applied to you. I strongly recommend to check the international student office of your university as they generally have new tax information and they generally organize free consultation to students (undergrad, grad) and postdocs for tax forms.
Do not take automatically the advise of your American colleagues , as their situation is most probably very different from yours. Average people have no idea about the notion residency for tax purposes, and give you incorrect advice in spite of their goodwill. Most accounts has no idea about applying rules neither, as few foreign postdoc has money to pay them.

You used "advise" wrongly (unambiguously) and yet have the audacity to critique my English in another post? What about your bad grammar in "notion residency" and "most accounts has" and "few foreign postdoc has"?


text:
Can I get a PhD in artificial intelligence with a pure mathematics background?
I am currently finishing my master in pure mathematics. I've studied mainly logic, mathematical analysis a bit of probability and I'm writing my thesis about Riemannian Geometry. I've been thinking about doing a PhD, but I am not so sure if I really want (and if I am good enough) to stay in the Academia for all my life.
Even if I don't know anything about, I find the Artificial Intelligence field really fascinating but I know that my current background is inadequate.
Do you think I could get I PhD in that area (possibly using also my mathematical background)?
And what kind of career path could I follow after? I mean, is it easy to find a job related to AI?

AI can be used also in physics see here an approach in PRL where designing of new experiments would benefit of "non-human mind".

Sounds really interesting and fascinating!

I edited the post title to reflect the actual question you asked in the body.

What's you're current status? Are you now able to answer your own question? I think it would be an excellent contribution

@user2768 I ended up pursuing a PhD in geometric analysis and I didn't apply for any AI PhD position so I guess I can't bring any useful information :/

I just want to supplement other answers (I have a PhD in AI). If your background is mathematics, I do not agree with others that you need to code per-se. Aside from machine learning pointed above, there are some other sides you can look at that do not require - much - programming (if any).
Logic - Symbolic AI is broadly focused around temporal logics, including those specifically formalised for game-theory, and non-monotonic logics. You can go in many directions with logic in AI: philosophical (i.e., thinking of how to capture certain types of common-sense reasoning, normative reasoning, etc.) or more solution-oriented (i.e., we need a logic to represent a specific problem X and then we will prove some general results about that logic). In the case that you work on logics to solve specific problems, you may need some Computer Science understanding (in particular, proving complexity for this kind of research is required for publishing in many top venues). In terms of the more philosophical aspects, you don't really need so much of a Comp. Sci. background, non-monotonic logics, for example, can be generalised in a graph-theoretical framework.
Game theory - similar, to the problem-oriented logic research I discussed previously, many papers in AI capture some new game-theoretical concepts and aim to prove something. In this area are related topics, such as negotiation (and to some extent, argumentation, although that is more related with non-monotonic logic). For some game-theoretical papers that relax assumptions of heterogeneity in the participants involved in the game (for example), simulation is used to find support for properties that cannot feasibly be proven (often, properties with assumptions of homogonous participants are proven and simulation supplements these results with experiments on trickier cases).
In short, I see no problem with you moving to AI, we have plenty of mathematicians (and philosophers and computer scientists) in the field. In terms of logic or game-theory, you may want to pick the topic carefully if you want to avoid spending time learning 'theoretical' Comp. Sci and/or programming.

Thank you very much for your answer! :) In the end I decided to keep studying math and at the moment I started a PhD in pure math (geometric analysis). Maybe soon or later I will finally ended up working on AI. I know that there are some applications of differential geometry in AI.

You have some of the elements of an artificial intelligence major. Your background in logic is pertinent. And your background in mathematical analysis and Riemannian geometry is at least interesting.
What's troubling about what I've seen of your background is your lack of computer science courses. Maybe that's not an issue, if you have the equivalent of a minor in computer science that wasn't featured in your question. Certainly, that would be an important "tool." And if you don't have it, you might consider going back to school for a five or six course minor or certificate program in CS.
The most interesting part of your question was, "I find the Artificial Intelligence field really fascinating." Why is that? And how does that connect with the rest of your background? Or are you starting from scratch, which would be difficult, though not impossible. In any event, these issues should be addressed in your statement of purpose.
Here's my experience in unfamiliar territory: In high school, I had four years of French, and none of Spanish (unless you count my one year of self-taught Spanish). In college, I bluffed my way into a second year Spanish class, and completed it successfully. Here's an example where my interest and natural aptitude compensated for my lack of formal training. Perhaps it will be the same for you and artificial intelligence.

The short answer: definitely yes, if you pick the right topic.
The longer answer: assuming you can catch up with some core programming based on Matlab or numpy/scipy, with your background you should have very good chances in theoretically oriented Machine Learning groups. Riemannian geometry will put you in a very good position for instance to pursue Information Geometry, which is a branch of information theory/probability theory of high relevance to learning theory which makes heavy use of differential geometry.
I know of a student with with a pure math background who continued to do a PhD in AI, with great success and strong publications. He was a good programmer, though, without actually having studied CS formally.

The answer to your question is yes, if you find a proper PhD programe, or better yet a supervisor who is looking for such a student.
Taking into account that Austrian Science Funds an unique PhD program which focuses on using logic in all the areas of CS, perhaps you can find yourself a match there.
The Doctoral college Logical Methods in Computer Science - LogiCS, is currently hiring: http://logic-cs.at/phd/


text:
If a paper has co-first authors, is the next author after the first authors considered the second author?
I've already read this question in this arena, but I couldn't find an answer.
The question is: if someone obtains first co-authorship, does the "third" author gain "second authorship"?

What is the  significance of "second authorship"? In my field (which is one where author order matters), the only meaningful positions are "first author, " "last author," and "middle author" (middle=not first and not last.)

In the policy of our Institute, a Cancer Comprehensive Center in Italy, and in the Ministry of Health'policy as well, the meaningful positions are: first, second, last and corresponding author

If second author has a different weight in your institution, then you should be asking them for advice. Also, by no definition third does equal second.

In this case, first authorship is being used for some sort of competitive ranking.  As such, if there are two first authors, then in the typical custom of competitive ranking there is no second author: the next author is the third author.
If this is being defined and used for a specific purpose by a specific institution, however, it is possible that institution has its own interpretation of rankings, which can only be determined by consulting the appropriate people or documentation at that institution.


text:
Does writing code for an assignment after seeing similar code online count as plagiarism?
In my compilers class assignment, we were asked to write some MIPS code. One of the problem involved implementing fact() function as a sub-problem. I wanted to implement the standard recursive version
int fact ( int n )
{
     if ( n == 0 || n == 1 )    return 1;
     return n * fact(n-1);
}

As I am new to MIPS, I looked up here on how to implement recursive routines. Unfortunately, the link explained recursion using fact() function itself. As I didn't want to "copy" code, I just understood the concept of recursion and wrote the fact myself.
But my fact code seems very similar to the one I looked up to learn recursion in MIPS. Is it for the fact that I glanced at the code already or the fact that factorial is really a very simple function with hardly 10 lines in it? Am I guilty of plagiarism here?
Here is my code
fact:   addi $sp, $sp, -8       # decrement SP to make room for pushing input var and ret addr
        sw $ra, 4($sp)          # save $ra
        sw $a0, 0($sp)          # save input on stack

        li   $v0, 1             # Set v0 to 1 initially.
        beq  $a0, 0, fact_ret   # if ( n == 0 )    return 1;
        beq  $a0, 1, fact_ret   # if (n == 1) return 1;

        addi $a0, $a0, -1
        jal fact                # Recursive call fact(n-1)
        lw  $a0, 0($sp)
        mult $v0, $a0           # n * fact(n-1)
        mflo $v0                # Save answer in v0
fact_ret:
        lw $ra, 4($sp)          # restore $ra
        addi $sp, $sp, 8        # restore $sp
        jr $ra                  # return from function

There's only one standard way to write "Hello World" in any language (don't play tricky, please). For a function so simple, I'd be more concerned if your function looked nothing like a standardized example.

The best defense again plagiarism is attribution. You can always add a note to your assignment (e.g. in a comment) to say that you consulted a source, wrote the code separately, and the results ended up being similar. Then the professor will make the decision. If the professor is approachable, you could also ask about this during office hours.

I think this is very subjective question and will depend on who the judge is. I would suggest you communicate exactly what you wrote in the question to your professor and let him be the judge. If he thinks yes, he might assign you some other relevant exercise to evaluate your learning.
By actually being honest about your situation, you will likely be treated in a positive light.

The answers here are insane.
This is less than nothing!!!
You are discussing implementation of extremely basic function as a small part of your homework where using the internet is probably not only allowed but also desired.

You are right to worry about it since it might be detected as plagiarism by scanning software. At my last university, there was what might best be called a plagiarism witch-hunt that was carried out upon students with very little common sense by some staff. As advised above, you might well want to insert a disclaimer in your submission. You also would be wise to cite all reference material used before and after writing the function.
As advised above, your algorithm should be similar for something like this. If you haven't copied the function, then your comments should be significantly different from the original ones. You might even be advised to deliberately alter any comments that seem too similar to the published material or to 'tweak' the algorithm as a prophylactic against accusations of plagiarism.


text:
My experiment supports a theory. Shall I contact the theorist attaching with my drafts?
We did an experiment and the results unexpectedly support a famous theory. I am not entirely sure how to write the full paper or sell the results because I am not too familiar with that theory. And I don't know which journals welcome that theory. I think chatting with that theorist will surely help.
Shall I directly send our results and drafts to that professor, or shall I send a short cover letter first, which concisely describes our results and shows how his theory is supported, and then send the paper only if the theorist agrees?

I talked to my advisor and they agree I could contact this person, but I'm not sure how to start. The theory is famous for its philosophical and mathematical elegancy but one of its important implications is hard to test.

What does your advisor say?

@CaptainEmacs Unfortunately my advisor is a very successful empirical researcher who had less mathematical and theoretical training than me. I am on my own for this theory part.

But do they say that you could contact that prof? This is a strategic decision as much as a scientific one.

@CaptainEmacs Yes of course my advisor agreed me to contact someone else. Otherwise I won't be asking a useless question here. But he doesn't really know that theorist in person.

@HighGPA Maybe it would surprise you, but we get an awful lot of questions here from students who are trying to use StackExchange as a replacement for an advisor, rather than a supplement. Either because they are afraid of their advisor, because they have some ongoing conflict, or because their advisor is completely missing in their duties.  That's why Captain is asking. Probably good to put that sort of info in your questions when it applies, like "I talked to my advisor and they agree I could contact this person, but I'm not sure how to start the contact."

Not quite clear to me from what has been stated if "famous theory" means that it already famously explains a lot of experiments already (in that case, is OP asking for more help in understanding how to put results in context?). Or does it mean - "famous" for everyone in particular subfield has been trying to get evidence to prove it right/wrong with an experiment but OP isn't sure if these experiments are relevant?

I think a lightweight mail about a "potential experimental support of the theorist's theory" and "happy to talk more if there is interest", i.e. a minimum commitment contact, would be best. If the theorist gets interested, you can slowly go into more details, e.g. perhaps arrange mutual "visit" (if under Corona, then per Zoom),  discussions, mini-seminars and go from there. Certainly do not begin by envisaging collaboration. Maybe after such conversations, you will know better what you want to do. The other researcher is a theorist, so there is not much danger they could "steal" your results.

My advice would be to send a note introducing yourself and explaining what you have done and the results. Don't "flood" the person in the initial contact. It is too easy to assume such mails are from cranks. I guess mathematicians still get letters with "squaring the circle" constructions.
Offer to share further if you like. Offer to collaborate if you like. Say you have some questions if you think you need their help.
But a shorter note is more likely, I think, to lead to more.

Shall I really offer collaboration in first email? Is it too early or sounds too aggressive to you? What is the politest possible sentence to offer collaboration?

You could wait to see what the first mail brings, of course. If it seems too aggressive to you then it probably is. Think of establishing contact as a process.

This is a complicated topic and you should definitely ask your advisor. There could be all sorts of potential pitfalls, e.g. perhaps there are caveats/loopholes to your experiment, perhaps you only supported a restricted form of the theory, perhaps the theory had unknown parameters that your experiment helped fix, and so on.
Given the dangers, don't try to navigate this yourself. If it comes to contacting the theorist, your advisor is likely to know more about what to write, as well.

Which dangers? The main danger here is to miss a very fruitful scientific exchange for being too shy.

@SylvainRibault one should show preparation before writing to the professor, though - which in this case means doing due diligence to make sure that the experiment supports the theory.