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Does getting an undergrad degree in astronomy and physics, and then a math PhD from UIUC, really count as "blooms late"? Sounds like a fairly standard career pa

Does getting an undergrad degree in astronomy and physics, and then a math PhD from UIUC, really count as "blooms late"? Sounds like a fairly standard career path to me.

ianai 9y ago
Yes, calling him a late bloomer when he's 34 is pretty awful.
- vnchr 9y ago
  There's a traditional view in math that most great accomplishments are had before 30, based on past mathematicians' successes.
  - ianai 9y ago
    "and the truly great ones are dead before they're 40 so all old mathematicians must be worthless" I've heard that one, too. Doesn't make it beneficial to the field.
    - vnchr 9y ago
      Agreed. Great to have a counterpoint in the subject of this article.
__mbm__ 9y ago
You're correct: Wired has hyped the original title of the article in Quanta Magazine: "A Path Less Taken to the Peak of the Math World". Any time you see the words "Math Genius" you should assume hyperbole. If you like this kind of story, I highly recommend putting Quanta (https://www.quantamagazine.org/ https://www.quantamagazine.org/) on your radar and avoiding most of the tabloid-science articles in Wired.
foobaw 9y ago
Maybe he's a late bloomer in the sense that he was neither a math prodigy or attended IMO. I personally know several IMO winners who started studying Math when they were 3~4 years old and it's been part of their life.