@antoinechambertloir@mathstodon.xyz
Post #4327972
2026-08-02 10:15 UTC
@highergeometer@mathstodon.xyz @Colman@mastodon.ie @zanzi@mathstodon.xyz @johncarlosbaez@mathstodon.xyz @peterwoit@mathstodon.xyz @mc@mathstodon.xyz one thing that might be wrong in the math as chess metaphor is that math goes on, whatever theorems mathematicians prove. When a conjecture is proved, new questions emerge, when it is disproved, a quest for better intuitions has to start. And sometimes, mathematicians simply create a new field.
Replies (1)
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@johncarlosbaez@mathstodon.xyz 2026-08-02 10:20
@antoinechambertloir@mathstodon.xyz @Colman@mastodon.ie @zanzi@mathstodon.xyz @peterwoit@mathstodon.xyz @mc@mathstodon.xyz - two things I love about math that chess lacks: it's open-ended rather than working within a fixed set of rules (as you note), and it's cooperative rather than competitive. Taken together, these mean that the idiosyncratic visions and deep labors of individual mathematicians compound to build up an ever more fascinating body of thought.