I find it sort of funny that this is basically a direct modernization of what used to be a common thing centuries ago: mathematicians would be paid to compete a

I find it sort of funny that this is basically a direct modernization of what used to be a common thing centuries ago: mathematicians would be paid to compete against other mathematicians and see who could solve certain problems faster. And while there isn't exactly a competitive aspect here, it still seems to be almost a spectator sport, but now with a new layer of spectator interaction.