7 ms·
I worked for a couple years with a formidable and incomprehensibly smart engineer who ascended the IC ranks faster than anyone I’ve seen at an elite tech compan
by titanomachy 2y ago
I worked for a couple years with a formidable and incomprehensibly smart engineer who ascended the IC ranks faster than anyone I’ve seen at an elite tech company. He quit the job a few years ago, and when I asked him his plans he told me he was going to work on the busy beaver problem. I can’t help but wonder if he is mxdys, the pseudonymous contributor mentioned in the article who wrapped up the formal proof of BB(5). I’ll probably never know.
- jebarker 2y agoIf it were them would you be surprised that they wanted to remain anonymous?
- someplaceguy 2y agoI'm sorry, I don't get it. What are you suggesting to be the motivation to remain anonymous in this case?
- DaiPlusPlus 2y agoPrevents embarrassment if it turns out one’s idea is wrong, I suppose.
- someplaceguy 2y agoThe person in question formalized the entire proof in Coq, which certifies its correctness. To me, that makes your conjecture very unlikely to be true...
- jebarker 2y agoI didn't mean to suggest anything. I was just interested in whether they thought that remaining anonymous was in keeping with their ex-colleagues character. Written communication is hard!
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- titanomachy 2y agoI didn’t know him that well, but could see him being the kind of person who wants to avoid attention. He was happy to spend some time explaining the problem to me and why it was interesting and difficult.
- optimalsolver 2y agoHow does figuring out the halting behavior of ever larger Turing machines help humanity? What's the payoff here? I would rather someone of the intellectual calibre you describe work on problems more relevant to improving the world.
- qayxc 2y ago> What's the payoff here? Personal happiness? It's also more than short-sighted to assume that just because there is no immediately obvious overall benefit, that no such thing exists. The techniques and insights developed and found during the pursuit of such fundamental and elusive problems can have profound side effects that may materialize only decades or even centuries later.
- mywittyname 2y agoRight. Why is it a smart person should be expected to use their capabilities for "the betterment of humanity"? There's a level of entitlement that goes with statements like that.
- reaperman 2y agoIt might be worth flipping the question and asking what we can do to entice smart people to use their powers for the betterment of society!
- messe 2y agoWould you also ask "what could we do to entice artists away from art to instead use their powers for the betterment of society?"
- generic92034 2y agoOne could voice the opinion that ("good") art is already a means for betterment of society. ;)
- danavar 2y agoA message on LinkedIn or email never hurt!