Was a PhD necessary to solve outstanding math problems?
greaterwrong.com
Was a PhD necessary to solve outstanding math problems?
1–10 of 57 posts
Re: Was a PhD necessary to solve outstanding math problems?
#2This doesn’t prove that PhD is needed. This just proves that people prefer to get paid.
Re: Was a PhD necessary to solve outstanding math problems?
#3PhD is not strictly necessary, but the process and training that results in a PhD degree is.
Case in point, Freeman Dyson, brilliant mathematician/math-physicist, never got a PhD degree, but did research work all his life. Note, he was deeply embedded in the research community, and pretty much everyone he collaborated with, was a PhD or eventually got a PhD (meaning he went through the motions just like other researchers).
Final note, the process and training required to be able to conduct research is massively undernurtured, i.e., in my opinion, most PhD graduates are barely an iota better-trained than MS graduates these days. This is getting increasingly true as world population grows, and PhD diplomas get handed out willy nilly (a topic I could go on at for hours). In short, Sturgeon's law is in full swing.
Re: Was a PhD necessary to solve outstanding math problems?
#4[deleted]
Re: Was a PhD necessary to solve outstanding math problems?
#5PhD is not strictly necessary, but the process and training that results in a PhD degree is. Case in point, Freeman Dyson, brilliant mathematician/math-physicist, never got a PhD degree, but did research work all his life. Note, he was deeply embedded in the research community, and pretty much everyone he collaborated with, was a PhD or eventually got a PhD (meaning he went through the motions just like other researc…
> PhD is not strictly necessary, but the process and training that results in a PhD degree is.
I was just about to post the same. I just finished a master's in math (in fact, with additional coursework in physics and statistics I've almost completed two master's) and I don't feel ready to tackle outstanding math problems.
And the PhD students I knew were receiving a lot of help from their mentors as they learned how to tackle outstanding problems.
There's just so much to learn to contribute to research math these days, it's hard to imagine anyone learning it all on their own.
Re: Was a PhD necessary to solve outstanding math problems?
#6If u were gifted at math and wanted to do it all the time, would you a) get paid for doing it with peers while getting a PhD or b) work a job as a janitor to support yourself while doing math. With the amount of depth modern math has, i think to achieve results you need to be able to do it full time, so getting a PhD seems to be the most logical route for aspiring mathematicians. Not to mention that most pure math don't have much practical application at the moment, you certainly would not convince your manager in industry to let you solve random problems just for the sake of solving it.
Re: Was a PhD necessary to solve outstanding math problems?
#7It also depends on the person, no?
Re: Was a PhD necessary to solve outstanding math problems?
#8The article is missing mathematicians who do not publicize their results. These would mainly be mathematicians working for agencies like GCHQ, NSA, etc.
If you want to work on certain math problems, don't mind working for the government, and don't care about being published you can get good jobs with these kinds of agencies.
Re: Was a PhD necessary to solve outstanding math problems?
#9The article seems to treat a PhD merely as a credential - maybe assuming that a person would be equally capable with or without it. Why? The whole point of a PhD in math is to learn to do effective research in math and there are almost no substitutes. This seems like being surprised that so many professional violinists took violin lessons. (I admit my bias here but still.)
Re: Was a PhD necessary to solve outstanding math problems?
#10From what I believe, many of the old days Mathematicians were given PhD by various institutes after they got famous.
Not all had PhD, but most of good one got it after being recognized. Also don't forget many people of that time did not publicize their work.