Karen Uhlenbeck, Uniter of Geometry and Analysis, Wins Abel Prize
<i>&quot;Mathematics research had another feature that appealed to her at the time: It is something you can work on in solitude, if you wish. In her early life, she said in 1997, “I regarded anything to do with people as being sort of a horrible profession.”&quot;</i><p>This sentence struck me as slightly odd if only because Erdõs was renowned for his social approach to mathematics[1], and my layperson&#x27;s understanding of mathematics departments being somewhat collaborative within their sub-fields.<p>I know there are some notable examples of other solo breakthrough endeavours, such as Shinichi Mochizuki[2] or Yitang Zhang[3], and but those examples seemed to be exceptions to the rule.<p>Perhaps I&#x27;m channeling too much Terence Tao[4], or maybe the lone wolf researcher only applies to literal geniuses who work exclusively in academia.<p>Is mathematics research still a primarily solitary activity?<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Paul_Erdős" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Paul_Erdős</a><p>[2] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.quantamagazine.org&#x2F;titans-of-mathematics-clash-over-epic-proof-of-abc-conjecture-20180920&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.quantamagazine.org&#x2F;titans-of-mathematics-clash-o...</a><p>[3] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.cnet.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;yitang-zhang-a-prime-number-proof-and-a-world-of-persistence&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.cnet.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;yitang-zhang-a-prime-number-proof-...</a><p>[4] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;terrytao.wordpress.com&#x2F;career-advice&#x2F;does-one-have-to-be-a-genius-to-do-maths&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;terrytao.wordpress.com&#x2F;career-advice&#x2F;does-one-have-t...</a>