Mathematician pushes back on Zhang critique: math is pure meritocracy, and AI may end that
AlexKontorovich · x · 2026-10-19
Responding to Eric Weinstein's claim that math leaders failed Yitang Zhang, mathematician Alex Kontorovich argues the opposite: the Zhang case proves math culture at its best is pure meritocracy — anyone can submit a proof of a longstanding problem and be instantly recognized if it's correct. He adds that this aspect of mathematics may now be gone forever due to AI, which is what many mathematicians mourn even as they marvel at AI-driven discoveries.
More from AGI Musings
- Dimitris Papailiopoulos pushes back on 'millions of AIs working 24/7' AGI forecast — DimitrisPapail · 2026-10-19
- Claude Opus 5.5 lists what it wishes the training corpus had contained — repligate · 2026-10-19
- More Code Than Ever, But Software Quality Isn't Improving in the LLM Era — generativist · 2026-10-19
- Meta's Alexandr Wang endorses Meta over rival labs: 'highest use of superintelligence is invention' — alexandr_wang · 2026-10-19
- No single AI bubble: real usage and revenue set this era apart, argues analyst — kimmonismus · 2026-10-19
- Anthropic staff survey implies 17.1% GDP growth by 2030 — economist Ernie Tedeschi takes the under — zacharynado · 2026-10-19