A math anecdote: a rival's rumored breakthrough fueled an overnight solution
AlexKontorovich · x · 2026-09-10
Mathematician Alex Kontorovich shares an anonymized anecdote: a junior professor, hearing his archrival was about to solve his long-standing problem, worked furiously through the night and solved it himself — the rumor was baseless. The protagonist supposedly won a Fields Medal, possibly Charlie Fefferman.
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