Wow, this is remarkable. So inspiring to read, even though I'm terrible at mathematics.
At 17, Hannah Cairo solved a major math mystery
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Re: At 17, Hannah Cairo solved a major math mystery
#32> Only the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University were willing to welcome her straight into a doctoral program. She’ll start at Maryland in the fall. When she finishes, it will be her first degree. Jeez... what a damning indictment of today's Universities. She could just use her publication as a dissertation and be done with it!
50% of my college education was general education though.
And frankly I find it just as valuable.
Re: At 17, Hannah Cairo solved a major math mystery
#33What I'd like to know is how many 17 year olds failed to solve their math mystery, and chose a career in programming instead.
Almost all of them?
Re: At 17, Hannah Cairo solved a major math mystery
#34> Only the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University were willing to welcome her straight into a doctoral program. She’ll start at Maryland in the fall. When she finishes, it will be her first degree. Jeez... what a damning indictment of today's Universities. She could just use her publication as a dissertation and be done with it!
I think the biggest flaw with higher education today is that we're pushing people into doing undergraduate degrees who are already well beyond coming out of self learning from high school or other experiences.
That’s one of the biggest problems? Not pushing people into higher educational programs with little societal or economic value but huge loads of debt?
Re: At 17, Hannah Cairo solved a major math mystery
#35> Only the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University were willing to welcome her straight into a doctoral program. She’ll start at Maryland in the fall. When she finishes, it will be her first degree. Jeez... what a damning indictment of today's Universities. She could just use her publication as a dissertation and be done with it!
> Jeez... what a damning indictment of today's Universities.
There’s a modern phenomenon I’ve been thinking about but have struggled to put a name to.
Everything just becomes so generalized, streamlined that it becomes impossible to operate outside of the pre defined “happy path”.
AI will make this increase 100x as taking humans out of the loop seems to accelerate this process.
Re: At 17, Hannah Cairo solved a major math mystery
#36> Only the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University were willing to welcome her straight into a doctoral program. She’ll start at Maryland in the fall. When she finishes, it will be her first degree. Jeez... what a damning indictment of today's Universities. She could just use her publication as a dissertation and be done with it!
The interesting part is that two others admitted her but retracted after "higher-ups in those universities’ administrations overrode those decisions". Was she not considered properly conditioned?
"I'm in charge, I enforce the rules, I'm a big deal."
Re: At 17, Hannah Cairo solved a major math mystery
#37 “There was this inescapable sameness, in a way. No matter what I did, I was in the same place doing mostly the same things,” she said. “I was very isolated, and nothing I could do could really change that. I’d wake up on certain days and realize, I’m just older.”
Re: At 17, Hannah Cairo solved a major math mystery
#38Here's a link to the paper on the arxiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.06137
Re: At 17, Hannah Cairo solved a major math mystery
#39I hope she doesn't burn out and move into the woods like Grothendieck, Kaczynski,
I have yet to move into the woods but, given my current levels of burnout, I think such a proposition is highly underrated. What's wrong with moving into the woods? Wait, if everyone moves into the woods there will be no more woods that offer seclusion. Yeah moving into the woods is awful! I hope she doesn't burn out!
One option could be to get a hammock and go program in a tree. That’s sort of like moving to the woods, but you don’t have to live there full time and you still get to program.
Re: At 17, Hannah Cairo solved a major math mystery
#40> Only the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University were willing to welcome her straight into a doctoral program. She’ll start at Maryland in the fall. When she finishes, it will be her first degree. Jeez... what a damning indictment of today's Universities. She could just use her publication as a dissertation and be done with it!
I see your point, but undergraduate degrees should provide a wide foundation, with little specialization. As you progress to a masters degree, you become more specialized. A doctorate is as specialized as it gets.
It is entirely possible for people to intensely focus on a very, very narrow thing - and ignore everything else. Even to such a degree that they can write a doctorate on it.
But I don't think that's a good excuse to make them forego other curriculum, especially if it is required for other students to take. Schools have a responsibility to educate people to a certain standard, and give them some general breadth.