Mathematician Steven Strogatz explains why AI and math moved him to tears: a 4,000-year tradition is having a renaissance
StefanoGogioso · x · 2026-09-15
Mathematician and science writer Steven Strogatz posted a thread explaining that WIRED reported he cried while discussing AI and mathematics — but didn't capture why. He admits he isn't entirely sure himself and tries to explain.
Amplifying the thread, he adds a big-picture take: mathematics, a 4,000-year-old tradition, is not just continuing but enjoying a renaissance, increasingly open to any smart, curious person with access to AI rather than a few ivory-tower scholars — promising an understanding of the universe unparalleled in human history.
A notable statement on AI's impact on mathematical research from a prominent figure.
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