4 ms·

i think the desire being expressed is to hear tao’s view on what is likely to happen on the various problems . as one of the most prominent mathematicians of ou

i think the desire being expressed is to hear tao’s view on what is likely to happen on the various problems . as one of the most prominent mathematicians of our time his personal opinion would be valuable.

almostgotcaught 1y ago
> what is likely to happen on the various problems Pure math just doesn't work like that. Literally no one has any idea when XYZ problem will be proven - there's no way to know! It's not like building a stadium or a road or even a company , where you can see or anticipate the coming of a proof before it arrives. It could happen tomorrow or it could happen never. For example, of Hilbert's original 23 problems posed in 1900, three are still open.
- coderatlarge 1y ago
  i agree. but if tao has any opinions on what will fall first or with what techniques, i would listen. tao himself says that some problems lack handholds to climb the sheer cliff . it would be nice to know what he views as handholds on the various problems that have them.
  - srean 1y ago
    You would, but then others would also come out of the woodworks claiming how wrong Tao is (or was, and I told you so). Even if that's true that's a lot of avoidable drama. These kinds of conversation works great for pushing addictive engagement but I doubt it does a lot of good.
    - coderatlarge 1y ago
      perhaps , but having some opinions shared is also a kind of guidance for people who don’t have access to the mathematics establishment. plus, if anyone can just shrug off that type of “told you so” nonsense it surely must be tao.
  - coderatlarge 1y ago
    as an example here is knuth speculating or expressing opinions on P=NP https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lex-fridman-podcast/id1434243584?i=1000461140793 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lex-fridman-podcast/id...
- randomtoast 1y ago
  Some problems are characterized by many mathematicians as exceptionally challenging, to the point that there are currently no known methods or branches of mathematics capable of addressing them. For these issues, it is often proposed that a entirely new branch of mathematics needs to be developed to effectively address these types of challenges. And then there are other problems for which progress has been made over the past decades. At times, a weaker version may have been proved. Occasionally, new ideas emerge in the field regarding how to advance effectively. An upper or lower bound may be identified and gradually improved over time. Of course, while no one can predict the future, making an educated guess is of course interesting. I would appreciate it if Terry could share his thoughts on such estimates.

almostgotcaught 1y ago

> what is likely to happen on the various problems Pure math just doesn't work like that. Literally no one has any idea when XYZ problem will be proven - there's no way to know! It's not like building a stadium or a road or even a company , where you can see or anticipate the coming of a proof before it arrives. It could happen tomorrow or it could happen never. For example, of Hilbert's original 23 problems posed in 1900, three are still open.

coderatlarge 1y ago
i agree. but if tao has any opinions on what will fall first or with what techniques, i would listen. tao himself says that some problems lack handholds to climb the sheer cliff . it would be nice to know what he views as handholds on the various problems that have them.
- srean 1y ago
  You would, but then others would also come out of the woodworks claiming how wrong Tao is (or was, and I told you so). Even if that's true that's a lot of avoidable drama. These kinds of conversation works great for pushing addictive engagement but I doubt it does a lot of good.
  - coderatlarge 1y ago
    perhaps , but having some opinions shared is also a kind of guidance for people who don’t have access to the mathematics establishment. plus, if anyone can just shrug off that type of “told you so” nonsense it surely must be tao.
- coderatlarge 1y ago
  as an example here is knuth speculating or expressing opinions on P=NP https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lex-fridman-podcast/id1434243584?i=1000461140793 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lex-fridman-podcast/id...
randomtoast 1y ago
Some problems are characterized by many mathematicians as exceptionally challenging, to the point that there are currently no known methods or branches of mathematics capable of addressing them. For these issues, it is often proposed that a entirely new branch of mathematics needs to be developed to effectively address these types of challenges. And then there are other problems for which progress has been made over the past decades. At times, a weaker version may have been proved. Occasionally, new ideas emerge in the field regarding how to advance effectively. An upper or lower bound may be identified and gradually improved over time. Of course, while no one can predict the future, making an educated guess is of course interesting. I would appreciate it if Terry could share his thoughts on such estimates.