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These mathematicians dedicated their life to math and were working for a long time to achieve the pinnacle of their careers. OpenAI just burned millions of dol

These mathematicians dedicated their life to math and were working for a long time to achieve the pinnacle of their careers. OpenAI just burned millions of dollars over a weekend after hearing that someone else was close to solving the problems. Their interest was in their AI system more than the actual math problems. Don’t you see how that’s different?

ralph84 15d ago
I see how it can be devastating to their ego, but no, I don't see a particular difference in a company spending money for clout vs. a person spending time for clout. The underlying motivation is the same.
- paulhebert 15d ago
  Do you really think people dedicate their life to mathematics for clout? If clout was the goal I don’t think becoming a lifelong mathematics academic would be the first step
  - pickleRick243 15d ago
    for many fairly strong mathematicians, the career calculus is fame and status (mild though it may be) through mathematics or anonymity but financial reward in tech or finance. Yes, clout by becoming a lifelong academic is in fact rational for some and part of their motivation. Of course they really like what they do as well, but earning the respect of the peers they know are also respected by a large swathe of society is very important.
    - paulhebert 15d ago
      Yeah that’s totally fair! I guess that type of “clout” feels different to me. Wanting to be validated by peers for your talents in a niche field vs. using millions to try to solve a math problem that you don’t really care about with AI to market the gigantic company you work for.
    - gammarator 15d ago
      I think you’re right that some of the angst here is due to a fairly insular community having its culture disturbed by commercial forces.
      - milindsmart 14d ago
        That fairly insular community pretty much gave up on commercial success in order to be insular. But the commercial forces were not happy being commercially successful, so they decided to disturb even their insular and commercially-unviable activities.
phoghed 15d ago
Yeah bro, same for probably the majority of this site that write software for a living and/or hobby.
- paulhebert 15d ago
  Sorry I’m not entirely sure what you’re trying to say
  - phoghed 15d ago
    How good were you at those “A is to B as C is to D” SAT questions?
    - paulhebert 15d ago
      No need to be rude. I didn’t want to misinterpret when responding. I can see how what is happening to mathematicians is similar to what is happening to coding. I’m not sure what your broader point is? Mathematicians shouldn’t be upset? Coders should? Something else?
      - phoghed 15d ago
        The point is that nearly every white collar worker is in the same boat right now, and the majority of them probably have already had much more profound impacts to their fields. So yeah, we can certainly imagine what it’s like for mathematicians.
        paulhebert 15d ago
        Okay. I agree with all that you said in your latest comment. From your first comment it seemed like you were disagreeing with me but I’m not sure how. That’s why I asked for clarification. Edit: BTW I’m a web developer and designer, Not a mathematician

ralph84 15d ago

I see how it can be devastating to their ego, but no, I don't see a particular difference in a company spending money for clout vs. a person spending time for clout. The underlying motivation is the same.

paulhebert 15d ago
Do you really think people dedicate their life to mathematics for clout? If clout was the goal I don’t think becoming a lifelong mathematics academic would be the first step
- pickleRick243 15d ago
  for many fairly strong mathematicians, the career calculus is fame and status (mild though it may be) through mathematics or anonymity but financial reward in tech or finance. Yes, clout by becoming a lifelong academic is in fact rational for some and part of their motivation. Of course they really like what they do as well, but earning the respect of the peers they know are also respected by a large swathe of society is very important.
  - paulhebert 15d ago
    Yeah that’s totally fair! I guess that type of “clout” feels different to me. Wanting to be validated by peers for your talents in a niche field vs. using millions to try to solve a math problem that you don’t really care about with AI to market the gigantic company you work for.
  - gammarator 15d ago
    I think you’re right that some of the angst here is due to a fairly insular community having its culture disturbed by commercial forces.
    - milindsmart 14d ago
      That fairly insular community pretty much gave up on commercial success in order to be insular. But the commercial forces were not happy being commercially successful, so they decided to disturb even their insular and commercially-unviable activities.

phoghed 15d ago

Yeah bro, same for probably the majority of this site that write software for a living and/or hobby.

paulhebert 15d ago
Sorry I’m not entirely sure what you’re trying to say
- phoghed 15d ago
  How good were you at those “A is to B as C is to D” SAT questions?
  - paulhebert 15d ago
    No need to be rude. I didn’t want to misinterpret when responding. I can see how what is happening to mathematicians is similar to what is happening to coding. I’m not sure what your broader point is? Mathematicians shouldn’t be upset? Coders should? Something else?
    - phoghed 15d ago
      The point is that nearly every white collar worker is in the same boat right now, and the majority of them probably have already had much more profound impacts to their fields. So yeah, we can certainly imagine what it’s like for mathematicians.
      - paulhebert 15d ago
        Okay. I agree with all that you said in your latest comment. From your first comment it seemed like you were disagreeing with me but I’m not sure how. That’s why I asked for clarification. Edit: BTW I’m a web developer and designer, Not a mathematician