/u/NovaNation21

9/9/14

InterviewwithTerenceTao
ProfessorofMathematicsatUniversityofCaliforniaLosAngeles

Q:Therearealotoftopicsinolympiadmaththataregularschoolcurriculumwillnever
[Link]
topicslikenumbertheory,combinatorics,andcomplexalgebra/geometryshouldbetaught
inhigherlevelhighschoolclassesorjustreservedforthestudentsindependentlyforthese
olympiads?

A:Thestandardhighschoolcurriculumtraditionallyhasbeenfocusedtowardsphysicsand
[Link],differentialequations,andlinearalgebrahavealwaysbeenthemost
emphasized,[Link]
ofcomputerscienceandalsothelifesciences,[Link]
areslowlytransitioningtoemphasizethingslikecombinatorics,probability,[Link]
[Link]
applications
[Link]
[Link]
[Link],statisticiansinmanyways
[Link].

th
Matheducationhaschangedovertheyears.Inthe19
century,theytaughtspherical

trigonometrybecauseoneofthebiggestapplicationsofmathematicswasnavigatingtheocean.
[Link]
[Link]
mathematicalresearch,[Link],especially
[Link].

ItsreallyeasynowwiththeInternet,[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link],
[Link]
matheducation,butIdontthinktheyneedtoreplaceit.

Q:Whatwouldyoutellanaspiringorcurrentmathematicsmajoraboutthekindofjobs
availablebesidesteaching?

A:[Link]
[Link]:actuarialscience,finance,
computergraphics,[Link]
ofequationsorabstractthinking,[Link]
electricalengineeringandtheresalwaysscaryequationslikeMaxwellsEquationsandsoforth.
[Link]
[Link]
[Link],theymightbe
[Link],obviouslyyourbestrouteistotakeengineeringclasses.
Ifyoudonthavemathematicalbackground,theclassesyoutakewillhelpyoutraintoanalyze
[Link]
reallynew,atsomepointyoullhavetomodelwhatyouredoing,whichmightbedifferentfrom
previousmodels,andyouhavetodosomemathematicssomewhere.

Q:Doyoufindmorefulfillmentinteachingorresearching?

A:[Link]
[Link],youhavetobeabletodobasic
[Link]

equationsandsayoh,itshouldlooklikethis,whichwouldhavetakenlikehalfanhourasa
[Link],
soitiscomplementary.

Q:Whatdoyouenjoymostaboutmath?

A:[Link]
likeyoushouldbeabletoanswerandyoucantansweritimmediately,itjustsortofbugsyou.
Andwhenyoufigureoutthetrickthatresolvesit,[Link]
satisfying,whenyoufinallygetwhatsgoingon,aswellaswhenyouexplainittosomeoneelse
andyouseethelightbulbgoonintheirhead.

Q:Whatisyourfavoritenumberormathematicalconstant?

A:Thefunnythingaboutmathematicsisthatyoudontworkwithregularnumberssomuch.I
neverseea37,[Link]
anyspecificnumber.

Q:Doyouhaveanyotherinterestsbesidesmath?

A:[Link],[Link]
usedtowatchalotanimeandplaycomputergamesandsoforth,butIhavenotimeforthese
thingsanymore.

Q:Areyouinterestedinseeingyourtwokidsbecomemathematicians?Areyougoingto
pushthematallinthatdirection?

A:Whatevertheyhavethepassionfor.Mysonis11andhehassometalentformath,buthe
[Link],theatreandvideoediting
actuallywhichismaybewhathellbecome,Idontknow.

Q:Whataboutprimenumbersinterestsyousomuch?

A:[Link]
schoolandcompetitions,soIknewaboutallthesenumbersandconjecturetheoriesveryearly,at
[Link]
[Link],itwonthavethatmucheffectin
[Link],[Link],itsthemethods
ofproofthataremoreimportant.[Conjectures]arejustsortofbenchmarkstokeepscore.

Q:Istherearesultthatyouconsiderthemostbeautiful?

A:[Link],youthink
oh,[Link],onceyouactuallyseeit,yourealizeit
wasntthathardafterall.

Q:Howdidyoulearntoteachandwhatisyourteachingphilosophy?

A:[Link],Ididntteach,Iwasagrader.I
[Link]
[Link]
ofhomework,midterms,[Link],youregivenasyllabusanda
textbookandbasicallytoldtousethetextbookitsnotactuallythatdifficult.

[Link]
effortintodesigningverycutequestionswheretheanswertothefirstquestionwouldbeuseful

inthesecondquestion,[Link]
eachquestionhasasingleanswer,[Link]
someonemakesamistakeinthefirststepbuteverythingelseiscorrect,[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
thatsay,[Link]?

Q:Whatcanteachersdotomakekidslikemathnotjustcomputationalmathbutthe
ideasofmathlikeproblemsolvingandexploration?

A:[Link],theytell
[Link].
[Link]
[Link]
oncewhenItaughtcalculus,oneofthesectionswasquadricsurfaces,likeellipsoids,paraboloids
[Link],andIwantedtodemonstrate
[Link]
Pringlestoclassandsaid,thisisahyperbolicparaboloid,[Link]
[Link],Iranintosomeoneonthe
streetwhosaid,Oh,[Link],buttherewasa
[Link],youdidntrememberanyofthemath,butyourememberthePringle.
Soitdidntreallywork.

Q:Whatdoyouhopetoaccomplishthroughyourresearch?Doyouhaveanyspecific
goals?

A:[Link]'salwaysquestionswhichIdlovetosolve(Riemann
Hypothesis,NavierStokes,whatever).[Link]
[Link]

[Link]
[Link]
certainpointonthecliff,andyourfirstgoalistogetonefoothigher,andyoujustkeepdoing
[Link],[Link]
[Link]
apromisingdirectionbasicallyanytimetheresaphenomenonwhichlooksinterestingandyou
cantexplainit,[Link].

Q:Whatdoyoufeelarethe2or3mostimportantopenproblemsareinmathematics?

A:[Link]=NP,
itcouldhavehugeapplications,[Link]
importance.

Q:Whichofthemillenniumproblemsdoyouthinkwearefurthestfromsolving?In2007
[Link],with
[Link]?

A:[Link].

Q:WhataboutNavierStokes?

A:[Link].
Onedirection[withintheproblem][Link]
Goldbachconjecture:[Link],itcouldbe
disprovenbecauseifitturnsoutthatsomehumongousnumberisnotthesumoftwoprimesafter
youcheckallthepossibilities,[Link]
[Link]
chancewithNavierStokes,butitsalongshot.

Q:YouhavethreeIMOappearances,andyouwononeofeachmedal,soyouhave
[Link]
nowcomparedtohowtheywereinthelate80swhenyouparticipatedinthem?

A:Imnotinvolvedinthemanymore,[Link]
[Link]
havebeentrainingforyearsandareverysystematicwhereyoustudy50yearsworthof
[Link]
amateurandeventuallysomeoftheprofessionalstakeover,[Link]
waysitslessfun,[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link].

Q:AtIMO,whydoyouthinkthatChina,Russia,Japan,andtheKoreasalwaysseemto
wintheunofficialteamcompetitionandwinthemostmedalsasateam,oftenwithperfect
scores?DoyouthinkthissaysanythingaboutEnglishspeakingcultureslikeAustralia,the
US,andtheUKandtheiremphasisonmatheducation?

A:Ithinkit'[Link]
[Link],thisislessimportantasAmericaisagloballeaderinso
manyareas,[Link],theyreactually
[Link]
andgetthreegoldmedals,buttheysacrificetheirregulareducation,spendingyearsdoing
[Link].
Theyrenotproperlytrained,eventodoamathdegreeortheyllbesickofmathsbythenif
[Link]

[Link].Gettinga600or
[Link],youstartskippingon
yoursocialactivitiesanddonothingbutsqueezethoselastfewpoints,whenitdoesntreally
[Link]
[Link],forexample,is
[Link],
[Link],specificallytoimprovetheir
SATscoreattheexpenseofawellroundededucation,tothepointwhere[theSAT]maynotbe
suchagoodguidetogeneralacademicexcellence,eventhoughitusedtobebeforestudents
startedoptimizing.

Q:Doyoufeellikejustanyonewithenoughhardworkanddedicationcanreachthelevel
ofmathematicsthatyouhave,ordoyouthinkitrequiresacertainmentaldispositionthat
you'rebornwithinordertodothetypeofmathsdoneattheIMOoringraduatestudies?

A:[Link],asopposedtoobsessedwith
gettingaperfectscoreorbeingattheabsolutetop,[Link]
enthusiasm,[Link]
[Link],Ijustloveddoingmathonmyown,Iwouldtry
[Link].
Itsnotaveryseriouslevelofmathematics,butitsonlybytinkeringwithasubjectthatyou
[Link],[Link]
intelligenceandbeabletothinkandwrite,butIthinkitismostlyactuallyyourenthusiasmand
yourtimeputingiventheopportunity.

Q:WhathasbeenyouropiniononthePolymathprojectsthatyou'vebeeninvolvedin,and
doyouthinksimilarkindsofsemimassivelycollaborativemathematicshasafuture?

A:[Link]
typesofproblemsthattheyareverywellsuitedfor:problemswhichareverymodular,thatcan
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
criticalmass,though.Therearesomeprojectswhereonlyabout3peoplegetinvolvedanditgets
convertedintonormal,[Link]
[Link]
solvetheRiemannhypothesisbythissortofcrowdsourcingthing,likeletsget1000people
together,[Link]
solved.

Q:WhatisyouropiniononstrongAI?

A:[Link],someonemightask
whatarethegoalsofAI?Andyoumightsay,Oh,wewantacomputerwhocanbeatachess
master,orwhocanunderstandactuallanguagespeech,orwhocansearchawholedatabasevery
[Link],[Link],we
[Link],[Link]
somemysteriousmagicalcomponenttoit,butwhenyouactuallysolveoneoftheseproblems,
youdontsolveitusingmagic,[Link]
becomesscience,[Link]
intoyourphoneandaskforthenearestThairestaurant,[Link]
calledAI,[Link],almostbydefinition,wewill
neverhaveAIbecausewellneverachievethegoalsofAIorceasetobecaughtupwithit.

Q:WouldyouconsiderdoinganAMAonreddit?

A:([Link]!)