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by ralph845 hours ago |
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upvoteby paulhebert4 hours ago|
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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 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?

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upvoteby ralph844 hours ago|
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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.
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upvoteby paulhebert3 hours ago|
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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

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upvoteby pickleRick2433 hours ago|
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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.
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upvoteby gammarator24 minutes ago|
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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.
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upvoteby paulhebert1 hours ago|
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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.

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upvoteby phoghed3 hours ago|
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Yeah bro, same for probably the majority of this site that write software for a living and/or hobby.
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upvoteby paulhebert3 hours ago|
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Sorry I’m not entirely sure what you’re trying to say
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upvoteby phoghed3 hours ago|
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How good were you at those “A is to B as C is to D” SAT questions?
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upvoteby paulhebert3 hours ago|
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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?

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upvoteby phoghed3 hours ago|
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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.
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upvoteby paulhebert1 hours ago|
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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

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