Thread

1. youoy · 1789812208 · focus · HN ↗

   Part of the controversy here is that now the skill advantage that some Field Medalist had is much narrower. The fact that fields medals have an age limit implies that it favors brain power over understanding. And that was the guiding light award of the community. So i find it "funny" (and natural) when they are offended by AI. That is the main "crisis" of mathematics.

   In my opinion there has never been a better time to be a mathematitian, and there has never been a better time to be a software builder.

   But there has never been a worst time to have the need to prove your economic value as a mathematitian or software developer alone. Because "understanding" is not something you can prove in one afternoon, its something that you prove with a life.

   1. sweezyjeezy · 1789813173 · focus · HN ↗

      > In my opinion there has never been a better time to be a mathemetician...

      As an ex-mathematician I assure you this is very wrong, and every working mathematician I know right now is completely miserable, and/or trying to flee the field as fast as possible. It's like telling a chair-maker during the industrial revolution that there had never been a better time for them, since now they could operate chair-making machines instead of toiling away at the wood themselves. It assumes that they were purely in it for their passion for mass-producing chairs. The majority of mathematicians get into the field because they love problem solving, and the gauntlet thrown down by challenging math tasks.

      Many parts of this will never be useful for society on a grander scale - but this is reflected in the finances - pure math is closer in funding-terms to a humanity than to hard science. Now even this is _massively_ under threat, and Tao and co need to pivot quickly to stop this from becoming a bloodbath.

      1. trostaft · 1789839468 · focus · HN ↗

         > As an ex-mathematician I assure you this is very wrong, and every working mathematician I know right now is completely miserable, and/or trying to flee the field as fast as possible.

         To throw a counterpoint to this into the writhing cesspit of HN, I'm active in academic mathematics (postdoc) and every one of my collaborators is deeply in love with the field and their jobs. Perhaps the grass is greener on the applied mathematics side of the fence.

         1. D-Machine · 1789849562 · focus · HN ↗

            IMO this would track, applied mathematics (even e.g. data science, though perhaps calling that applied math is a bit generous / insulting to more serious applied math) is in some ways more exciting now because it is far easier to surface complex / appropriate methods for the task at hand, and you can more confidently explore these methods because the AI sort of "has your back" in catching some of the more obvious beginner errors you make during these explorations. Plus, applied math feels roughly more results- than process-focused, compared to pure math.

            IMO the divide here between pure vs. applied math feels a lot like the divide between those who enjoyed coding for the understanding it led to, i.e. the writing itself was the joy, vs. those that primarily coded for the results. I enjoy the creative part of coding, the thought of software jobs just devolving into writing specifications and doing code review very much kills it for me.

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