Re:Ten advances in mathematics and theoretical computer science
by pama on Tuesday August 04, 2026 @01:08AM
(#49164531)
Your inverted logic does not hold. The fact that such useless problems for bounds exist does not mean that improving bounds is useless. 9 fields medals in the last twenty years, including the one to Terrence Tao, were for improvements on bounds. 3 of the 4 medals in 2022 were for bounds; 2 of these medals were in combinatorics.
Re:Ten advances in mathematics and theoretical computer science
by sdenton4 on Tuesday August 04, 2026 @10:02AM
(#49169159)
I stated that boring bounds improvement problems exist, not that all bounds problems are boring... Sigh.
Re:Ten advances in mathematics and theoretical computer science
by pama on Tuesday August 04, 2026 @11:23AM
(#49170278)
I agree boring problems exist; bounds may have a fare share of them. None of the bounds problems in this set are even close to this category; many of them are closer to the type of contributions that in the past got recognized by special awards. Your initial replies were misleading.
Re:Ten advances in mathematics and theoretical computer science
by CamperBob2 on Tuesday August 04, 2026 @11:18AM
(#49170205)
As someone with a PhD in combinatorics, you're aware that it takes only one counterexample to invalidate a conjecture.
There's nowhere else to move the goalposts. You've already stashed them in the far corner of the parking garage down the street from the stadium. If you go any farther you'll leave the school grounds entirely.
As someone with a PhD in combinatorics, I believe that I'm qualified to say that, yes, there are problems as useless as calculating more digits of pi.