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Karen Uhlenbeck, Uniter of Geometry and Analysis, Wins Abel Prize

quantamagazine.org

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Re: Karen Uhlenbeck, Uniter of Geometry and Analysis, Wins Abel Prize

#51

Post by kevinventullo »

soVeryTired wrote: post #35
cadeira wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a good addition. Did you do a PhD in Math as well? My idea is to pursue a PhD in CS, but have a very theoretical bent. I was concerned since essentially I am studying pure math, under the CS department I'd have similar prospects as a Math PhD. But my aim is to set myself up for industry skills upon graduation, so I'll ensure I beef up my software and leetcode skills as Kevin recommended.

Mine was CS with a stats twist, yes. Fortunately the stats component put me in good stead for industry work. I'd say TCS and pure math are about equivalent in terms of the career opportunties they offer. Something I forgot to mention: under no circumstances should you self-fund a PhD. Make sure you have a stipend to keep food on the table. Self-funding magnifies the risks I've described tenfold. This is a realistic p…

> under no circumstances should you self-fund a PhD

Second this. I was told before starting "If you have to pay to do a PhD you're doing it wrong." This may not apply to fields like Literature, but it most certainly applies to Math and CS.

Re: Karen Uhlenbeck, Uniter of Geometry and Analysis, Wins Abel Prize

#52

Post by tanderson92 »

graycat wrote: post #46
tanderson92 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The industrialized countries are already so poor that the birth rates are so low they are rapidly going extinct. Country wealth and birth rates are not positively correlated, and due to immigration, countries can have positive population growth even as their birth rate is below replacement. > For Wall Street, I still have the letter back from Fisher Black at Goldman Sachs saying that he saw no opportunities for opt…

The industrialized countries are poor in a special, curious sense: The people are so eager to get financial security that motherhood is neglected. Or, when wives have to go to work for financial security, the country is still poor . In a sense, living in some of the tropical countries is better if only because can get by without heating oil in the winter or an expensive car. Yes, Black-Scholes etc. have been importan…

I understand your critique much better (and agree more), thanks for clarifying.

Re: Karen Uhlenbeck, Uniter of Geometry and Analysis, Wins Abel Prize

#53

Post by throwawaymath »

hyperbovine wrote: post #44
throwawaymath wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Erdos wasn't out of the ordinary because he published with (read: collaborated with) so many coauthors. He was out of the ordinary because he published so many papers , period. His sociability was more of a difference of degree within mathematics, not category.

I beg to differ. Anecdotes of Erdos' itinerant lifestyle are legendary in the field: > Dr. Erdos traveled from meeting to meeting, carrying a half-empty suitcase and staying with mathematicians wherever he went. His colleagues took care of him, lending him money, feeding him, buying him clothes and even doing his taxes. In return, he showered them with ideas and challenges -- with problems to be solved and brilliant…

Ah, by sociability I just meant the number of collaborators he worked with. What I'm getting at is that he's abnormal because he published so much, not because he published with so many coauthors. Many mathematicians would have similar looking publication records if they maintained the same level of collaboration and simply published...more.

But he was an oddball too, for sure.

Re: Karen Uhlenbeck, Uniter of Geometry and Analysis, Wins Abel Prize

#55

Post by andrepd »

cadeira wrote: post #38
andrepd wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am a maths PhD researcher in a CS department, just like you describe. In a few short words, my recommendation would be that you do the PhD for its own sake , not as a tool to get a higher-paying job or to learn for an industry job. If you want the latter, you're better off elsewhere, plus you will probably be miserable in a PhD. Be sure that you get into it for the sake of doing research in a field you like (even t…

Agreed. I’d be doing the PhD for its own sake.

Also another thing other people have mentioned: do not go into debt to fund your PhD, you should be able to get a scholarship/stipend to pay for tuition and living expenses. By your username I infer you're an EU citizen. If this is the case then this gives you loads of opportunities throughout Europe on the same terms as nationals, which means that you have many excellent universities usually with good funding opportunities (though in 9 days that will be the UK out of that set, sadly; I myself got in last year still in time :p).

Best of luck!

Re: Karen Uhlenbeck, Uniter of Geometry and Analysis, Wins Abel Prize

#56

Post by [deleted] »

tanderson92 wrote: post #41
graycat wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What are the career prospects for it? I typed in a comment rejected as too long, clicked on the wrong icon, and lost it. My view of the prospects is, in a word, poor. Others have described the prospects for an academic math career. I would add, should include a lot of politics, friends, alliances, etc. Outside of academics, long the main source of jobs in math was in US national security, with some of the major com…

> The industrialized countries are already so poor that the birth rates are so low they are rapidly going extinct. Country wealth and birth rates are not positively correlated, and due to immigration, countries can have positive population growth even as their birth rate is below replacement. > For Wall Street, I still have the letter back from Fisher Black at Goldman Sachs saying that he saw no opportunities for opt…

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