4 ms·
The Fields medal is deliberately not open to Mathematicians over the age of 40 to encourage young Mathematicians. Very depressing for older Mathematicians. An
by muxxa 13y ago
The Fields medal is deliberately not open to Mathematicians over the age of 40 to encourage young Mathematicians. Very depressing for older Mathematicians. Andrew Wiles was too old to win it, and Erdös is not a Field medalist (although not sure if that's because of age or oversight).
- shawabawa3 13y agorelavent abstruse goose: http://abstrusegoose.com/518 http://abstrusegoose.com/518 I honestly couldn't believe that was really a rule for the fields medal. Aren't mathematical breakthroughs by over 40s rare enough as it is?
- Angostura 13y agoDo the rules explicitly say whether the age limit is in base 10?
- bnegreve 13y agoI assume it says "forty" which is enough to avoid this kind of ambiguity. Edit: Actually no, quoting the official website [1]: > A candidate's 40th birthday must not occur before January 1st of the year of the Congress at which the Fields Medals are awarded. [1] http://www.mathunion.org/general/prizes/fields/details/ http://www.mathunion.org/general/prizes/fields/details/
- judk 13y agoI don't think Wiles is depressed by the lack of a Nobel for his work.
- theorique 13y agoAge is but a fever chill that every physicist must fear. He's better dead than living still when once he's past his thirtieth year. (PAM Dirac)
- huxley 13y agoLikewise, the Nobel Prizes can't be awarded posthumously which is a terrible discouragement to the brilliant dead.
- seanmcdirmid 13y agoThis may be a joke, but many people care about their legacy.