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Peter Lax wins Abel Prize
otisaardvark writes "The prestigious Abel Prize, awarded annually for lifetime contributions to mathematics, has been awarded to Peter Lax [pdf]. Professor Lax, born in Hungary and currently at New York University, has made profound contributions to the theory of partial differential equations, most famously his reformulation of a large class of important PDES (so-called "integrable systems") in terms of Lax pairs of coupled, simplified equations. Read a summary of his achievements here [pdf]."
Some regular folks thought the Game theory was like you described: useless. But then years later it's often practiced (with or without users knoledge) in many places to estimate the patterns in the stock index, etc.
So yeah the mathematics may be evolving into somewhat more abstract; but that doesn't mean that application is not there for us.
If math was directed by practical applications, we would not have many of the items we take for granted today. Cryptography, computers, space exploration are all results of research in mathematics.
I've heard many people wonder what use there is for math beyond its daily uses. However, if people always thought this way, we would not have advanced as a civilization. Someone may yet find a practical use for these "obscure" concepts. Many engineering and science students already know how useful partial differentiation is.
Perhaps I should have read the PDF before responding.
Lax's work covers scattering theory, the theory of shock waves and Lax pairs which find their uses in fluid dynamics, quantum field theory and solid state physics.
Hardly obscure I'd say.
Here is Lax's advive to young mathematicians: "I heartily recommend that all young mathematicians try their skill in some branch of applied mathematics. It is a gold mine of deep problems whose solutions await conceptual as well as technical breakthroughs. It displays an enormous variety, to suit every style; it gives mathematicians a chance to be part of the larger scientific and technological enterprise. Good hunting!"
--- guns don't kill people, people with guns kill people ---
Even if you believe that, and I don't think you do, the stuff this guy did was very relevant to the real world: He worked on Shock Waves (that is, pressure waves), and partial differential equations, among other things (Including computing stuff. Some of the other stuff he has done is a bit abstract, though).
Partial Differential Equations are used in Physics for basically everything (as you mentioned). They are completely relevant to everything. Differential Equations are basically things which describe rates of change. The "partial " bit just says there are other variables involved, pretty much.
Some mathematics seems irrelevant, but it is actually very relevant to the real world. For example, Tensors.
Mathematics is by far the hardest subject humans have ever looked at, and as such, very few understand much of it. Lay persons not understanding does not make mathematics irrelevant. Few people understand how computers work, but computers certainly are not irrelevant.
- Jax
OK, here's the standard reply to this obvious troll: some concepts which are obscure now will be the basis for future developments in many sciences.
Now you can mod him down...
The AACS key is NOT 0xF606EEFD628B1CA427BEA93A9CA9773F
If math was directed by practical applications,
Actually, for most of its lifetime, math has been directed by practical applications. Almost all distinguished mathematicians before the XX century were also top rate physicists.
People like Conway, Penrose and Witten are good examples.
The Abel prize was introduced as a sort of "Nobel Prize of math" where people are rewarded for results and achievements that have shown themselves to be of lasting value in the field. Alfred Nobel did not want a Nobel Prize in math since he himself saw little scientific value of math! The most prestigious prize in math before the Abel came into being is the Fields medal, but this prize is only given to younger mathematicians (belove the age of 40) that has made break-through results and show promise for the future. The Fields medal is handed out every 4 years while the Abel is handed out every year (first prize was handed out in 2003).
It would have been ironic for Abel if he were to know that such a huge money prize is to be given out in his name, when his whole life he had to live in poverty and fight to get time and money to do his scientific work. The irony of Abel's life is also that Abel himself finally got a professorship in Berlin; but too late, the letter was sent to him two days after his death.
--- guns don't kill people, people with guns kill people ---
Game theory? It came out of the Rand institute type research, with applications in mind from day one. The seminal paper was by Morgenstern who was an economist, and von Neumann who was a mathematician, physicist and computer scientist.
Lax's work may seem obscure, but it has practical applications that are very relevant for many people. Example: simulations in 3d computer games. Look here for more details.
Question is, how much longer are they going to hold the award from Andrew Wiles of Fermat fame?
Isn't there enough math classes already? :P
Shut the fuck up.
maybe you shouldn't mistaken ignorance with knowledge. this "direction" is the way maths has been going for last 500 years. if you haven't noticed this direction is actually working quite well. either you're part of the crowd that thinks "1+1=2, what else do you need to know" or you think the only way things are worthwhile is if they 1) make you famous or 2) gives you celebrity status. I'm assuming you're either Brad Pitt or some NFL star. In any case you don't get it.
you're one of the people who think that everything that's worth knowing can be explained in 5 minutes. I presume you have never learnt a musical instrument or programmed. So what's you angle in life? If it's not in the Bible it can't be right? If it doesn't appear on TV then it's not important? Well I can see this guy will fit right in Bush's America.
Dear bostonsoxfan, So is this the direction baseball is going now, to obscure concepts few people have practical application for. This is why over the last couple of years there has been a decline in people playing baseball because it is boring. And on top of it there is no real incentive at best they can get some prize few people(in the general populace) even care about.
The toad can't burp - and for some reason can't fart either, so it swells up and eventually explodes. --Anonymous Coward
Probably a troll, but I'll bite.
There is actually very little mathematics that is not applied. Group theory is very useful for quantum mechanics, and the Lebesgue measure is useful for crystallography. You admit that PDEs may be somewhat of an exception, but even that somehwat is wrong. Most complex models in engineering, physics, economics, and even sociology involve PDEs. But that's not all. Finding exact (which rarely exist) and numerical solutions to PDEs requires not only applied math, but concepts like Sobolev spaces, operator theory, and so much more. Lax's achievement in PDEs is the concept of Lax pairs, which are extremely abstract and require function theory to understand.
In short, all mathematics is useful. Applied math is useful because it gives us insights into the material world, and abstract math gives us insights into both applied math and sometimes even the material world.
E = m c^3 Don't drink and derive E = m c^3
Math is one of the few classes where you can learn something truly beautiful that is also useful. Few classes are more useful in day to day life. (reading, perhaps grammar)
Find a good math instructor. In grade school and somewhat in high school, teachers are people who hate math, and so they are unwilling to show you just how much fun it really is.
Why is this posted on Slashdot Science? Although a very important branch of human knowledge, matehematics is not a science because it does not use the scientific method. Scientific method is based on asking nature questions (through observation or experimentation)and building theories which explain nature's answers. Based on theories new experiments are suggested, which lead to new theories etc. Since mathematics DOES NOT STUDY nature, such a cycle does not exist in mathematics. Mathematical theories are not built in order to explain natural phenomena. Mathematicians just explore the logical implications of various sets oh non-contradictory hypotheses, this is all. They do not suggest or make experiments, they do not confront their results with experiments or observations.
Medicine is is not a science for a different reason. Its purpose is not understanding nature or acquiring knowledge but healing people. A healing method is accepted by the medical community whether there is a scientific explanation for it or not. Understanting the way a healing method works is irrelevant as long as it works and it does not do collateral damage. In a sense medicine is some kind of engineering. Both medicine and engineering use science and scientific method at times, although they are not sciences themselves.
I am a theoretical physicist myself and I use mathematics every day. However I am always surprised when I hear people calling mathematics, engineering or medicine sciences. Physics, chemistry, biology, geology and even economics are sciences. Mathematics, engineering and medicine ARE NOT SCIENCES.
, because most of his research is relevant to physics. This does not change the fact that mathematics, even applied mathematics is not a science.
There was a great theoretical physicist, named Melvin Lax, with important contributions in classical and quantum noise, nonlinear and statistical optics, nonequilibrium statistical mechanics etc. His papers on noise published in 1960 in Rev Mod Phys are citation classics, with almost 10^4 citations. Is Peter Lax related in any way to Melvin Lax?
Your post is patently ridiculous. First of all, every succesful scientific theory ever has had a foundation built from mathematics (in the hard sciences anyway -- biology and the like are excluded from this claim). Without the work of mathematicians, physics would be nigh impossible.
You also make the claim that medicine is not a science because "understanding the way a healing method works is irrelevant." This statement is not only untrue (if you want to achieve better healing methods than herbal remedies), but also it implies that physicists understand why the universe is the way it is, which they do not. Physicists are quite good at explaining how natural phenomena occur, but there really isn't a good explanation for say, why gravity exists or why inertial mass and gravitational mass are (or appear to be) the same. Physics is simply a model of reality based upon observation, logic, and induction, and any one of which may or may not be correct in the first place.
Finally, (and I do take this a little personally) you make a similar claim for engineering as you do medicine. Do you mean to imply that, say, aerospace engineering (rocket science, if you will) is not science? If you are trying to tell me that the men who put Neil Armstrong on the Moon did not understand why their spacecraft worked, you are either mentally handicapped or an elitist snob. The same can be said of the other engineering disciplines as well--you just seem to lack experience with them.
It is gratifying to witness Slashdot occasionally returning to its autistic roots. Although in recent years the slogan of "News for Nerds," has become more and more undeserved, this particular story belongs squarely in the Nerd category.
/.'s editors are still willing to post this type of material. It's quintessential old-school Slashdot stuff.
Although this specific story is not one which I care about, it is in the general category shared by other stories which I very often definitely DO care about...and so it's good to know that
[ ] You understand what the "scientific method" is.
[X] You are easily offended.
Meme of the day: I browse "Disable Sigs: Checked". So should you.
If one instead define science to be the study of whatever can be studiet, with such scientific methods as falsification and use of Ockhams Razor, then math is provable scientific, as there are parts of math that can only be studied scientifically, because they are beyond proofs. As for engineering: It is a symbiont of science. Asking nature questions today require engineering, and engineering requires science. Thus, engineering is in practice a part of science.
Kim0
He's both a great mathematician and a cool guy...
Boeman is right - Mathematics is NOT a science; to imply otherwise is like saying that 'grammar' is the same as 'literature'. Understanding the Book of Nature (i.e., Physics, Chemistry, Biology) requires that one understand the language in which it is written (Math.), but the language itself and Nature are different entities. Mathematics might be called 'quantitative philosophy'. Note that none of this takes any merit away from (mighty) Mathematics! You are right, of course, to say that 'w/out the work of mathematicians physics would be nigh impossible'. No, aerospace engineering, is NOT science. Aerospace engineering USES science, but it itself is NOT science (I also work in aerospace engineering, BTW). Simply put, Engineering is NOT Science. Science is about understanding Nature. Engineering is about applying the knowledge that comes from Science and using it to produce something useful/profitable. That's the way it is and there is nothing elitist about it. Finally, I totally agree with LuckyStarr - (a) you are easily offended and (b) it seems you do not understand the scientific method. Take a breather, do your homework and don't be so easily offended by the facts...
Sorry, in my first sentence I meant to say that 'Anonymous Coward' (the original poster of this thread) is right, not boeman.