If you want to play that game, then it’s not clear to me that the SIAI is doing “science” either, given that the focus is on existential risk due to AI (more like “philosophy” than “science”) and formal friendliness (math).
I think a better interpretation of your quote is to replace the word “science” with “disseminated scholarly communication.”
Essentially yes, though he might have had to individually contact a few mathematicians to make his existence known. Consider the example of Ramanujan. Wpedia:
In 1912–1913, he sent samples of his theorems to three academics at the University of Cambridge. Only Hardy recognized the brilliance of his work, subsequently inviting Ramanujan to visit and work with him at Cambridge.
Do we know whether there are many Ramanujans who gave up before getting through to someone? One way to tell might be to look at such people who had already given up and were then discovered through a coincidence.
It would be nice to have additional data. However, I think we can mine the case of Ramanujan for clues about difficulty of entry. What I find striking is that he only contacted three mathematicians. Had he contacted, say, twenty before being noticed, that would have suggested a higher barrier to entry. But it was apparently just three. My own experience is that the great scientific minds are very approachable, aside from a tiny handful of scientist celebrities who understandably have to learn to be less approachable.
Indeed, math isn’t science. ;)
I wonder—if Perelman was just “some guy” with no reputation as a mathematician, would anyone have noticed when he uploaded his proof?
If you want to play that game, then it’s not clear to me that the SIAI is doing “science” either, given that the focus is on existential risk due to AI (more like “philosophy” than “science”) and formal friendliness (math).
I think a better interpretation of your quote is to replace the word “science” with “disseminated scholarly communication.”
Good point.
Essentially yes, though he might have had to individually contact a few mathematicians to make his existence known. Consider the example of Ramanujan. Wpedia:
Do we know whether there are many Ramanujans who gave up before getting through to someone? One way to tell might be to look at such people who had already given up and were then discovered through a coincidence.
It would be nice to have additional data. However, I think we can mine the case of Ramanujan for clues about difficulty of entry. What I find striking is that he only contacted three mathematicians. Had he contacted, say, twenty before being noticed, that would have suggested a higher barrier to entry. But it was apparently just three. My own experience is that the great scientific minds are very approachable, aside from a tiny handful of scientist celebrities who understandably have to learn to be less approachable.