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> doubtful that this isn't a "cause celebre" sort of situation I mean, honestly… it just is. Is it a new proof? I believe that it is. Is it any good? Yeah, sur

by krick 4y ago

> doubtful that this isn't a "cause celebre" sort of situation I mean, honestly… it just is. Is it a new proof? I believe that it is. Is it any good? Yeah, sure, it's pretty clever. Is it really an all-over-the-news special kind of achievement? No. It simply wouldn't be all over the news if not for… uh, non-mathematical reasons. Allegedly it's special, because it's trigonometric, and trigonometric proofs of it are indeed special. But this one is… let's say it's "trigonometric with an asterisk". Both because of the series, and because it is kinda analogous to a known geometric proof. And the first one truly trigonometric proof, which was really special, wasn't as much celebrated, as this one (but, of course, the internet was a bit quieter place back then). And, yes, I agree that it does a disservice to an achievement. And I'm completely positive that it is an achievement no matter what — every new proof is, and it's especially true when the theorem is well-known (and there are very few more famous than this one). So, honestly, I'd like if we wouldn't have this discussion at all, and could just stick to the matter. But the problem is we probably wouldn't even hear of it, if not for those "non-mathematical" reasons. Because by itself it isn't that huge. I would love if every new proof of a famous theorem would be highlighted and celebrated on the Internet as much, as this one, but it simply isn't the case. It's understandable, so it's neither good nor bad IMO, but I'm just saying that your suspicion is definitely correct.

briandear 4y ago
If it were two kids from New York, would the story be “New York teenagers do x?” The reason the framing rubs me the wrong way is because it feeds a narrative that people from New Orleans (regardless of race) are somehow novel for doing something fancy. I was born in New Orleans so I have some slight offense at the implication that the geography is somehow notable. It’s like “oh wow, even people from some Southern flyover city can do some smart stuff too.” However what is interesting about this story is the girls go to St Mary’s which is a catholic school created for black people during the segregation era founded by an the second oldest order of American black nuns just after the Civil War. The history of the school is fascinating. Imagine if more kids had the opportunity to go to high quality private schools but can’t due to financial constraints (St Mary’s costs about $9k per year which is a lot of money for those in Louisiana.) These girls can write their own ticket now — I hope they end up staying in math and do something extraordinary with their lives.

by krick 4y ago

briandear 4y ago

If it were two kids from New York, would the story be “New York teenagers do x?” The reason the framing rubs me the wrong way is because it feeds a narrative that people from New Orleans (regardless of race) are somehow novel for doing something fancy. I was born in New Orleans so I have some slight offense at the implication that the geography is somehow notable. It’s like “oh wow, even people from some Southern flyover city can do some smart stuff too.” However what is interesting about this story is the girls go to St Mary’s which is a catholic school created for black people during the segregation era founded by an the second oldest order of American black nuns just after the Civil War. The history of the school is fascinating. Imagine if more kids had the opportunity to go to high quality private schools but can’t due to financial constraints (St Mary’s costs about $9k per year which is a lot of money for those in Louisiana.) These girls can write their own ticket now — I hope they end up staying in math and do something extraordinary with their lives.