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Re:Monumental advance in number theory posted to the ArXiv b... by gavagai691 on Monday November 07, 2022 @05:18PM (#33513360)
Yes, if you want to see something incredible (in both the literal sense and the usual sense), read https://www.math.purdue.edu/~ttm/ZhangYt.pdf (by Moh).
Re:Monumental advance in number theory posted to the ArXiv b... by ummonk on Monday November 07, 2022 @05:26PM (#33513443)
Yeah I started reading that from the Wiki citation. Yikes. Academia is brutal.
Re:Monumental advance in number theory posted to the ArXiv b... by Firmwarrior on Monday November 07, 2022 @05:43PM (#33513591)
Man, it's so weird and pathetic

All of these guys are probably a hundred times smarter than me or most of the other code monkeys working for the FANGMAN, but they're all squabbling over little 5-figure scraps of grant money.

Re:Monumental advance in number theory posted to the ArXiv b... by whytai on Monday November 07, 2022 @06:04PM (#33513799)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sayre%27s_law

  In any dispute the intensity of feeling is inversely proportional to the value of the issues at stake
Re:Monumental advance in number theory posted to the ArXiv b... by nequo on Monday November 07, 2022 @06:06PM (#33513812)
I think it’s their egos they’re squabbling over, not grant money.
Re:Monumental advance in number theory posted to the ArXiv b... by bigbacaloa on Tuesday November 08, 2022 @02:01AM (#33516611)
Zhang evidently doesn't care about money at all. The same is true for many professonal mathematicians. Caring about money makes it difficult (not impossible) to do anything deep.
Re:Monumental advance in number theory posted to the ArXiv b... by m_nyongesa on Monday November 07, 2022 @05:51PM (#33513673)
In the earlier version I saw (I guess it consists of the non-bold parts), he didn't mention as much negative stuff about Zhang. His claim that Zhang "want to be famous all the time" I regard with suspicion.
Re:Monumental advance in number theory posted to the ArXiv b... by lordnacho on Monday November 07, 2022 @05:57PM (#33513719)
> For some 10 years, I had recommended 100 mainland Chinese students to the department and all accepted by the department. I am always indebt to the trust of my judgements by the department. Only very few of them misbehaved, bit the hands which fed them, none of them intended to murder their parents/friends, almost all of them performed well and became well-liked.

No murderers, great success!

Re:Monumental advance in number theory posted to the ArXiv b... by yding on Monday November 07, 2022 @06:43PM (#33514153)
It's a reference to Brendt Christensen.
Re:Monumental advance in number theory posted to the ArXiv b... by eclarkso on Monday November 07, 2022 @08:15PM (#33514835)
I doubt it, as the non-bolded portions were written in 2013, 4 years prior to the murder of Yingjing Zhang.
Re:Monumental advance in number theory posted to the ArXiv b... by MikePlacid on Monday November 07, 2022 @10:17PM (#33515535)
I’ve looked it up and wished I had not.

( Interestingly, every summary of the case in media and Wiki stops listing the evidence against him at his secretly taped confession to a girlfriend - confession that included some things absolutely not confirmed. The most convincing evidence to my eyes is the victim’s DNA in the blood found under the carpet and elsewhere there it has survived cleaning efforts. This is not mentioned anywhere except in the court recordings: https://news.wttw.com/sites/default/files/article/file-attac... . Kinda sad what is convincing these days ).

Re:Monumental advance in number theory posted to the ArXiv b... by smacke on Monday November 07, 2022 @11:58PM (#33516003)
Probably a reference to Yongfei Ci actually (https://dailyillini.com/news-stories/2014/06/20/yongfei-ci-s...)

UIUC is not having a great track record wrt grad student murderers o_O

Re:Monumental advance in number theory posted to the ArXiv b... by warbler73 on Monday November 07, 2022 @08:14PM (#33514832)
Wow thanks so much. That is indeed "incredible" on many levels.
Re:Monumental advance in number theory posted to the ArXiv b... by lawrenceyan on Tuesday November 08, 2022 @01:27AM (#33516449)
It's tragic how the relationship dynamics between Moh and Zhang almost resulted in the total write-off of Zhang and a loss of genius/talent, with nothing left but bitterness and animosity.

I'm glad Zhang was able to find success despite his initial setbacks and from what it seems like in his recent interviews also let go of his bitterness/resentment (holding something like that in your heart can only ever hold you back). And though the power dynamics here were clearly unequal, I don't think it's fair to blame Moh entirely for what happened at Purdue.

I think it's important to remember Moh is also human with all the complexity that comes along with that. In reading his published statement, even though there is no direct apology to Zhang, I sense that he does genuinely regret how things turned out.

Perhaps one day, Zhang and Moh will be able to meet again and resolve/rekindle their relationship.