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Fields Medals 2022

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Re: Fields Medals 2022

#51

Post by oblio »

LeanderK wrote: post #43

I always found it weird how it was dominated by the french, with very few germans in between (only 2!). What are they doing differently? It's not that math is unpopular here, a lot of students are studying mathematics and every university has a math department. But they are absolutely dominating and I can't really explain it.

I can tell you why.

In German 25 is five and twenty. 67 is seven and sixty. Annoying but bearable.

However, in French, 60 is sixty. 70 is sixty ten. 80 is four twenty. 90 is four twenty ten. 99 is four twenty nineteen.

Any French person is steeled by their crazy numbering system, from an early age, allowing them to reach the highest mathematical heights as they grow.

Re: Fields Medals 2022

#52

Post by peterweyand0 »

mxben wrote: post #42
peterweyand0 wrote: post #5

Can anyone give a little insight into how some of these discoveries can have engineering applications? There are some abstracts, but has anyone looked at this and seen potential uses in computer science? I'm surprised there aren't more comments on this on Hacker News considering it's the Fields Medal.

> I'm surprised there aren't more comments on this on Hacker News considering it's the Fields Medal. Many would argue that looking for engineering applications in mathematics is not why mathematicians do mathematics. That mathematics does sometimes have engineering applications is a mysterious and beautiful side effect. It isn't the motivation behind doing mathematics.

Oh I know. I just thought that more people would be excited about this and maybe point out where engineering applications might be possible if at all.

Re: Fields Medals 2022

#53

Post by Georgelemental »

The_Colonel wrote: post #37
paganel wrote: post #8

Quoted post unavailable.

This is not an innocent question, this user is a Kremlin tool, reading his comments on reddit is pretty disgusting, here's for example blaming Ukraine for the fact Russia is bombing hospitals: https://old.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/vp08m0/the_health_c...

Nothing in the linked comment is untrue, and nothing in it justifies Putin's invasion.

Re: Fields Medals 2022

#54

Post by yodsanklai »

LeanderK wrote: post #43

I always found it weird how it was dominated by the french, with very few germans in between (only 2!). What are they doing differently? It's not that math is unpopular here, a lot of students are studying mathematics and every university has a math department. But they are absolutely dominating and I can't really explain it.

It's cultural. France has a long tradition of selecting and funnelling the brightest math students to elite schools and institutions. In particular, there's a system of "preparatory schools", 2 years right after high school, where students work hard to get to the best possible "Grande Ecole" (engineering school). Not only the incentive is high for the students to perform well, but maths teachers in these classes are extremely qualified.

I should add that the most selective "Grande Ecole" produce more managers than engineers. Maths is mostly a mean of selecting elite, since most of these students won't work in science or engineering.

Ironically, France students on average are getting worse and worse at maths. This system works well for some elite, but not for the rest of the country. I like to think it's the same for gastronomy. France has great restaurants, but a lot of French eat mostly pizza, Mac Donald's and junk food.

Re: Fields Medals 2022

#55

Post by The_Colonel »

Georgelemental wrote: post #53
The_Colonel wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not an innocent question, this user is a Kremlin tool, reading his comments on reddit is pretty disgusting, here's for example blaming Ukraine for the fact Russia is bombing hospitals: https://old.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/vp08m0/the_health_c...

Nothing in the linked comment is untrue, and nothing in it justifies Putin's invasion.

He justifies bombing of children hospital in Odessa (far from the frontline) by the fact that Ukraine sometimes uses evacuated buildings on the frontline as bases.

Re: Fields Medals 2022

#57

Post by dan-robertson »

oblio wrote: post #51
LeanderK wrote: post #43

I always found it weird how it was dominated by the french, with very few germans in between (only 2!). What are they doing differently? It's not that math is unpopular here, a lot of students are studying mathematics and every university has a math department. But they are absolutely dominating and I can't really explain it.

I can tell you why. In German 25 is five and twenty. 67 is seven and sixty. Annoying but bearable. However, in French, 60 is sixty. 70 is sixty ten. 80 is four twenty. 90 is four twenty ten. 99 is four twenty nineteen. Any French person is steeled by their crazy numbering system, from an early age, allowing them to reach the highest mathematical heights as they grow.

Q: What is 20 times 4?

A: 80 because multiplication is commutative.

Re: Fields Medals 2022

#58

Post by cycomanic »

rowanG077 wrote: post #48
cycomanic wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you admit you are in no position to make that assessment, but at the same time make the assessment that it is not out of the realm of possibility? Maybe if in no position to make an assessment it is better not to make one?!

I'm not the person who made the statement. They asked the question. That's exactly the opposite of making an assessment. That person tries to find someone who CAN make that assessment to answer the question.

You wrote:

> I agree that it is a distasteful question. But what is much more distasteful that it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for the answer to that question to be yes.

So you said it is not out of the realm of possibility for it to be the case, that is an assessment. By your own statement, you are in no position to judge, so how do you know it is possible?

Re: Fields Medals 2022

#59

Post by oblio »

dan-robertson wrote: post #57
oblio wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can tell you why. In German 25 is five and twenty. 67 is seven and sixty. Annoying but bearable. However, in French, 60 is sixty. 70 is sixty ten. 80 is four twenty. 90 is four twenty ten. 99 is four twenty nineteen. Any French person is steeled by their crazy numbering system, from an early age, allowing them to reach the highest mathematical heights as they grow.

Q: What is 20 times 4? A: 80 because multiplication is commutative.

Ok, I guess? I don't get it.

Re: Fields Medals 2022

#60

Post by Georgelemental »

The_Colonel wrote: post #55
Georgelemental wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing in the linked comment is untrue, and nothing in it justifies Putin's invasion.

He justifies bombing of children hospital in Odessa (far from the frontline) by the fact that Ukraine sometimes uses evacuated buildings on the frontline as bases.

The commenter stated that the Ukrainian Army often puts troops and military hardware near civilian infrastructure (true). They did not assert that this was the case for the specific Odessa hospital in question (merely that it was a possibility), or that this justifies Russian bombings.
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