Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

At 17, Hannah Cairo solved a major math mystery

quantamagazine.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 186 posts

Re: At 17, Hannah Cairo solved a major math mystery

#41

Post by 1659447091 »

amelius wrote: post #14

What I'd like to know is how many 17 year olds failed to solve their math mystery, and chose a career in programming instead.

I never got excited for math, thus didn't care much to start with. But then add the issues of high school math and that solidified it for me. Math word problems were the worst. With a dyslexic brain I would consistently read the important words as something different, thus correctly solving the wrong problem and being derided for it.

Geometry required rote memory exceptionalism which also works against my brain design (adhd as well), but let me have the formulas to choose from and I'll get it done. Algebra II? I kept getting in trouble because I would do homework assignments in class instead of paying attention to the teacher trying to teach concepts that were easier for me to learn by reading the examples and following the book. After that, who would ever want to continue beyond the required credits and not think of further math as a masochist hellscape

Re: At 17, Hannah Cairo solved a major math mystery

#43

Post by [deleted] »

assword wrote: post #35
1024core wrote: post #18

> 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.

[deleted]

Re: At 17, Hannah Cairo solved a major math mystery

#45

Post by JAlexoid »

1024core wrote: post #18

> 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!

This is ignoring the value of the whole education process, that you go through the years at a university.

I disagree that she should skip the general education.

Re: At 17, Hannah Cairo solved a major math mystery

#46

Post by skeptrune »

jonhohle wrote: post #34
skeptrune wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

I think research and higher education does have value for the most part. It's undergrad that's really worthless and something people only do for the experience.

Re: At 17, Hannah Cairo solved a major math mystery

#47

Post by thechao »

1024core wrote: post #18

> 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!

In my teens I worked with the statistics department at UTMB. That had a cast of characters there; many profs in the 70s and 80s, who'd gotten their degrees before WW2. A number of them had schooling of the form: Start school at 9-10, do 5 years of public school, got to a 1 year prep, do a year or two of college, do a two year PhD. Most of them had their PhD's by 22.

Re: At 17, Hannah Cairo solved a major math mystery

#49

Post by contravariant »

skeptrune wrote: post #29
1024core wrote: post #18

> 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.

To the right people a university education can be an asset rather than a barrier to entry.

Re: At 17, Hannah Cairo solved a major math mystery

#50

Post by sdenton4 »

morleytj wrote: post #23
rahkiin wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Normally you have a master of science as well. And for that you require a bachelors. So to do it directly you need to do it all at once?

In the US a doctorate usually doesn't require a master's, most people go straight from undergrad to phd.

To add slightly more detail: Most research math programs in the US are 5(ish) year 'combined' masters+phd programs. The first couple years are basically course work, seminars, finding your area and advisor, and then the rest is the actual research work. It's not uncommon to leave after the first couple years with a Master's degree.
Post reply on HN