I look forward to a real pick up as school comes back into session. Alon just started this thing a few months ago… and we’ve survived our first summer. This has been a good start.

I’ll put you in if I can’t find someone else soon… thanks for volunteering.

My proposal for submitting posts of my own still stands, though.

I’d be happy to host the 16th but it might be preferable to have someone new if anyone is interested. I take it from your comment that you do believe the CoM should remain intact and see what develops. You’re probably tired of hearing it, but we are all indebted to you for getting this off the ground. I do believe the Carnival still has a lot of life. We will be here to help you in any way possible to maintain this momentum.
Dave Marain

There are a lot of math bloggers who don’t submit to the carnival. Just casually following links from a few blogs I already know, I’ve found something like 6 reasonably advanced posts, of which about 5 postdate the 14th carnival. Is any of them about the proof of Taniyama-Shimura? No. But they’re not high-school level, and some of them are just above my level of knowledge (again, it doesn’t say much… but I’m definitely past high school math). There are 3-4 more that traditionally produced some high-level stuff but haven’t posted any recently; if any of them does, I’ll be on it faster than I raid free food.

So, John, if you do submit this time, there’s a good chance your post is going to be one of 5 or 6 grad-level ones and 10+ post-freshman-year-of-college ones.

And, as I’ve said from time to time to hosts who got shafted because I took too much time to set them up on BlogCarnival, I can always temporarily come out of retirement. I still have my incomplete series on Galois theory, and now that I know some things about elliptic curves and modular forms, I can begin a new, more advanced series. In fact, I might do that even without being dragooned, if only because it helps me learn this stuff better, and I need to know it like the back of my hands for my orals.

Finally: I have a good feeling someone will volunteer to host the 16th carnival by Wednesday. If no one does, I will. There’s a difference between wanting to get as far away as possible from my ill-fated attempt at being a pundit, and shirking responsibility for things I’ve started.

Either way, we have a more immediate concern. After Aug 24th, there are no more hosts and someone (or ones) needs to take charge here. I’m willing to do this but decisions need to be made quickly.

BTW, I was hoping to elicit comments on my blog since I raised the questions there but it’s getting awkward for me to be in 2 places at the same time!
Dave

Look, as it stands the Carnival effectively is about the lower-level mathematics. All I’m calling for is to recognize the de facto state of affairs and move on with it.

And then look again at those first few carnivals. Was there enough to sustain it? I think the proof is in the continued existence. Was there enough to sustain 2 carnivals? I don’t know. I don’t think so. And I don’t know why it would be desirable. It make take some work, though, to keep the levels of mathematics better balanced.

Dave, Michi, you might look at the first 8 Carnivals. I hosted the ninth, while school was still in session but college was out. I solicited submissions, because so few came in, and ended up with a big carnival, but weighted towards 6-12 (those are the bloggers I knew). The next few Carnivals have been in the slower months, and had non-university hosts.

This carnival was brand new in January, and immediately produced several modestly successful editions (1-8, and maybe 9) before slowing down for the summer. That’s where we are likely headed back to in September, likely a bit stronger. Look at 1 – 8, do you find them problematic in any way?

There has been a problem keeping up the number of higher end submissions, but we have the experience of a very small number of carnivals so far.

1. We should ask hosts (or instruct hosts) to make active efforts to go after a variety of submissions;

2. We should hold off on any major changes until the Fall, when blogging has picked back up; and

3. all of us should recognize that the fringes, the boundaries between research and undergrad, between undergrad and high school, between high school and elementary – we should understand that it is precisely at these boundaries that sometimes the most interesting discussion takes place.

As for the change to monthly, I am a bit dismayed…but as I’m not blogging/contributing/hosting, I can’t really complain.

I greatly appreciate the efforts of everyone involved in past and future carnivals. Thank-you!