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The Fields Medal should return to its roots

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Re: The Fields Medal should return to its roots

#21

Post by david-gpu »

throwaway0255 wrote: post #8
Fibo144 wrote: post #5

I think the age limit for the Fields medal reinforces this idea that "mathematics is a young mans game." It's one of many reasons why I got discouraged into entering mathematics when I was young because of this and math competitions. When I was younger , I would visit websites such as AOP , and ask questions and then be treated in a condescending way by students who were my age or younger who would then boast about t…

> It took some time to realize that having parents who are academics/engineers helps significantly in guiding you in a career such as mathematics. This is true of every good job. I'm trying to get hired at big 4 tech right now. Every person interviewing me is a rich kid. All of my competition is rich kids. Touring these big tech companies was discouraging. They're all very diverse. Rich white kids. Rich Asian kids. R…

Since IQ, education and wealth are all positively correlated, it's true that any group of smart highly-educated people is likely to come from privileged backgrounds, but that's not why they are being selected.

A lot of those immigrants you talk about will actually be middle class people that had to work twice as hard to get hired in a foreign country.

Re: The Fields Medal should return to its roots

#24

Post by snoman »

throwaway0255 wrote: post #8
Fibo144 wrote: post #5

I think the age limit for the Fields medal reinforces this idea that "mathematics is a young mans game." It's one of many reasons why I got discouraged into entering mathematics when I was young because of this and math competitions. When I was younger , I would visit websites such as AOP , and ask questions and then be treated in a condescending way by students who were my age or younger who would then boast about t…

> It took some time to realize that having parents who are academics/engineers helps significantly in guiding you in a career such as mathematics. This is true of every good job. I'm trying to get hired at big 4 tech right now. Every person interviewing me is a rich kid. All of my competition is rich kids. Touring these big tech companies was discouraging. They're all very diverse. Rich white kids. Rich Asian kids. R…

Wow. Lots to digest here, and I think I detect some strong frustration. My sympathies on that.

I have worked at the big 4 (MS) but I'm a consultant now. I do a fair bit of interviewing and what I propose is that you don't actually have a clue what the finances of your interviewers are like, and you don't actually have a clue what the finances of your competitors are like. You would be far better served putting it out of your mind and focus on just trying to be a good engineer (presuming that's what you are trying to be) and enjoying it.

The reason being is that, not only are you almost certainly wrong, but it doesn't matter. Interviewers don't care about how much money the candidates have because...

1. they get a perk if you get hired and retained regardless, so they're incentivized to place anyone that can do the job

2. the competition often doesn't exist: the big 4 will often just hire anyone and everyone who fit their criteria (high turnover and need leads to a few hundred engineers starting each week)

3. the job has a pay band, and if you're currently making low or nil, then you're far more likely to HAPPILY fit into the lower segment of the band

BTW: The other interviewers and I can tell when the candidate is crusty and/or resentful during the interview, and it reflects negatively on their performance.

Re: The Fields Medal should return to its roots

#25

Post by CJefferson »

david-gpu wrote: post #21
throwaway0255 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It took some time to realize that having parents who are academics/engineers helps significantly in guiding you in a career such as mathematics. This is true of every good job. I'm trying to get hired at big 4 tech right now. Every person interviewing me is a rich kid. All of my competition is rich kids. Touring these big tech companies was discouraging. They're all very diverse. Rich white kids. Rich Asian kids. R…

Since IQ, education and wealth are all positively correlated, it's true that any group of smart highly-educated people is likely to come from privileged backgrounds, but that's not why they are being selected. A lot of those immigrants you talk about will actually be middle class people that had to work twice as hard to get hired in a foreign country.

I went to Cambridge University, UK and got a first in maths. I have friends who did to. Those of us who came from poor backgrounds had real difficulties getting a good job. We just weren't a "good fit". One of my friends with a 2.1 Cambridge maths degree was a waitress for 3 years after graduating.

Re: The Fields Medal should return to its roots

#26

Post by Radim »

decebalus1 wrote: post #22
javiramos wrote: post #11

Shocking that 55/56 Fields Medals have been awarded to men. Maryam Mirzakhani has been the only female recipient. [0] [0] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/16/us/maryam-mirzakhani-dead...

[hn lost its sense of humor]

How many have been awarded to me?

There lies the ultimate discrimination resolution—at the level of the individual.

Re: The Fields Medal should return to its roots

#27

Post by yodsanklai »

uptownfunk wrote: post #3

Ok so what awards ceremony selection process isn’t political? Any guess on who is in consideration of the 2018 prize? I imagine those under consideration are already at top tier institutions. Is no noteworthy mathematics being done at less prestigious institutions? (Loaded question I know) but it would be cool to see some undiscovered mathematician doing ground breaking stuff at a lesser known university.

> Is no noteworthy mathematics being done at less prestigious institutions?

People with high-potential are detected early on and can choose to work in the most prestigious institutions.

It's like a pro-athlete. You don't expect Michael Jordan to be playing with a small local team.

Re: The Fields Medal should return to its roots

#28

Post by notzorbo3 »

Hasz wrote: post #16
wheresmyusern wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

why is it shocking?

If you accept the idea that a penchant for math is randomly distributed among all people, then the odds of 55/56 men winning by chance are very, very, very low.

> If you accept the idea that a penchant for math is randomly distributed among all people

That would seem rather detached from reality.

Re: The Fields Medal should return to its roots

#29

Post by cybertronic »

uptownfunk wrote: post #3

Ok so what awards ceremony selection process isn’t political? Any guess on who is in consideration of the 2018 prize? I imagine those under consideration are already at top tier institutions. Is no noteworthy mathematics being done at less prestigious institutions? (Loaded question I know) but it would be cool to see some undiscovered mathematician doing ground breaking stuff at a lesser known university.

https://www.quantamagazine.org/will-peter-scholze-win-the-fi...

Re: The Fields Medal should return to its roots

#30

Post by twic »

snoman wrote: post #24
throwaway0255 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It took some time to realize that having parents who are academics/engineers helps significantly in guiding you in a career such as mathematics. This is true of every good job. I'm trying to get hired at big 4 tech right now. Every person interviewing me is a rich kid. All of my competition is rich kids. Touring these big tech companies was discouraging. They're all very diverse. Rich white kids. Rich Asian kids. R…

Wow. Lots to digest here, and I think I detect some strong frustration. My sympathies on that. I have worked at the big 4 (MS) but I'm a consultant now. I do a fair bit of interviewing and what I propose is that you don't actually have a clue what the finances of your interviewers are like, and you don't actually have a clue what the finances of your competitors are like. You would be far better served putting it out…

> you don't actually have a clue what the finances of your interviewers are like, and you don't actually have a clue what the finances of your competitors are like

The point isn't about the wealth of these people, it's about their background, and the resulting confidence and comfort with which they can negotiate the social structure of interview and employment at these companies.

> The other interviewers and I can tell when the candidate is crusty and/or resentful

Like that, for example.

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