Taleb says skip math PhDs, hire engineering grads; debate over what LLMs replace
akbirthko · x · 2026-10-12
Nassim Taleb argued that after a career in math finance he never hires math PhDs to solve real problems, preferring "matheux" with undergrad electrical engineering backgrounds from India, Russia, Lebanon or Brazil. akbirthko pushes back: the Grothendieck anecdote (unfamiliar with the Gaussian integral) vs. Asian exam pipelines shows competitive exam cultures like the Tripos, Gaokao and JEE mass-produce "math acrobats" — exactly what LLMs replace — while pure-math aristocratic cultures reflect humans' love of status games.
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