Mathematician: genius worship fuels anxiety behind AI-era debates in math
arjunrajlab · x · 2026-10-11
The author recalls taking grad-level math courses as an undergrad and encountering terrifyingly smart high schoolers, which made him doubt what he could ever contribute—a feeling that shaped his career even through his PhD. He argues that math, while noble, glorifies genius from an early age, tying many researchers' self-worth to being the smartest or solving the hardest problems. He suspects this psychology underlies much of the current discussion around AI's impact on young mathematicians.
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