Fields Medals awarded

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Posted by ryuzaki0 on Tuesday August 20, 2002 @09:38PM from the hemos-medal-still-in-the-offing dept.

prostoalex writes "Every four years the Fields Medals are awarded to top mathematicians for outstanding research. This year's winners, as this San Francisco Chronicle article reports are Vladimir Voevodsky from Institute for Advanced Study and Laurent Lafforgue from Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques. 'True to form, Lafforgue and Voevodsky's mathematical research has no known practical applications', notes SF Chronicle."

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impractical? by khuber · 2002-08-20 21:51 · Score: 2, Funny

Yeah, not like the revolutionary impact the average newspaper journalist has on civilization. (note sarcasm)
-Kevin
a doughnut into a coffee cup by oliverthered · 2002-08-20 21:52 · Score: 4, Funny

Hey that's easy any idiot can do that.
1: take the doughnut in you right hand
2: take the coffee cup in you left hand
3: move you right hand towards the coffee cup, ensure that you 'turn the doughnut into the coffee cup ' on you approach.

Maths is easy.

--
thank God the internet isn't a human right.
... near equivalents? by Ratface · 2002-08-20 21:55 · Score: 3, Funny

"Two Americans and a Frenchman have won prizes that are the mathematical and computer science near-equivalents of the Nobel Prize. "

Does this mean that...

Fields Medals ~ Nobel Prize

and

Fields Medals != Nobel Prize

? ;-)

--

A little planning goes a long way...
1. Re:... near equivalents? by jfern · 2002-08-20 22:00 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  There exists a homoorphism but not an isomorphism between the two. Maybe I shouldn't attempt math humor at 3am.
No Practical Applications? by Anonymous Coward · 2002-08-20 22:10 · Score: 5, Funny

Dammit, I'm sick of the Langlands Program getting dumped on in the media. A man proves global correspondence for function fields and all the media can say are there are 'no practical applications'!
Yeah sure, maybe today, it's the topology and set theory guys who get all the chicks and who get invited to the Oscars and stuff, but just you wait, two-three years, it's going to be ALL ABOUT the Langlands Program!
On the other hand, take cohomology theory for algebraic varieties: that shit's just weird.
Re:Arrrgh by mill · 2002-08-20 22:28 · Score: 5, Funny

Turning a doughnut into a coffee cup and vice versa would have serious practical applications for our people in law enforcement though. /mill
Re:New maths never had practical applications by BigBir3d · 2002-08-21 00:00 · Score: 3, Funny

speaking of negatives, they were of no real importance until our society became on of currency. the barter system (still available for research in a few remote places) never gave us the idea of a 'minus.'

and now, we have Enron and Worldcom...
Three kinds of people by smlandreth · 2002-08-21 01:34 · Score: 2, Funny

There are only three kinds of people in this world; those that can count, and those that can't.
Re:Maths and practicallity... by tswinzig · 2002-08-21 02:53 · Score: 3, Funny

So sodding what if it doesn't have direct application today ? Would the SFC complain about yet another Dean Kootz book or another pointless film with Tom Cruise in it ?

But the practical application of a Dean Koontz book or a Tom Cruise movie is apparant to everyone: ENTERTAINMENT.

Math is not fun to most people. And really far-out math is worse...

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"And like that ... he's gone."
Good Will Hunting by babyruth · 2002-08-21 05:39 · Score: 2, Funny

Fields medal winners do have practical applications, like that guy in Good Will Hunting...