3 ms·
> regarded by many as the world’s greatest living mathematician. Oh? Perelman comes to mind (as the only person who has been eligible to claim one of the Mill
by vitus 2y ago
> regarded by many as the world’s greatest living mathematician.
Oh?
Perelman comes to mind (as the only person who has been eligible to claim one of the Millennium prizes), although he is no longer actively practicing math AFAIK. Of Abel prize winners, Wiles proved Fermat's last theorem, and Szemeredi has a number of number-theoretic and combinatorial contributions.
Recently deceased (past ~10 years) include figures such as John Nash, Grothendieck, and Conway.
Tao is definitely one of the most well-known mathematicians, and he's still got several more decades of accomplishments ahead of him, but I don't know that he rises to "greatest living mathematician" at this point.
That said, I do appreciate that he indicates that even his papers get rejected from time to time.
- xanderlewis 2y agoHaving been a child prodigy somehow gives one infamy (in the wider public consciousness) beyond anything one can achieve as an adult.
- vanderZwan 2y agoHe's a child prodigy who didn't burn out, that does make him quite rare.
- xanderlewis 2y agoWell, true.
- flocciput 2y agoTo add to your list, you can also find Richard Borcherds teaching math on YouTube.
- kenjackson 2y agoHe said “regarded by many”, which I think is probably an accurate statement.
- arrowsmith 2y agoI chose those words deliberately because I knew that if I phrased it too strongly then someone would reply to litigate the claim. Apparently I still phrased it too strongly, but hey, nothing's ever too pedantic for HN.