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Dorikka comments on Hack Away at the Edges - Less Wrong
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Comments (54)
While I agree with this statement, the preceding example doesn't support it. I participated in the polymath project, and while it is true that there were anonymous or pseudonymous contributors, the project was mostly sustained by the fame and communal pull of Gowers and Tao. The retelling of the story you chose made it seem like Tao appeared out of the blue, but in fact Tao and Gowers work in the same field and certainly knew each other beforehand.
Therefore I feel it's not impossible to read the polymath project through the lens of Few Great Men.
Agree with atucker on the importance of the question. Responding to parent so that paper-machine is alerted.
I think that the thesis of the post relies on Gowers and Tao not bringing most of the mathematical brainpower to the project. paper-machine, since you were involved, can you shed some light on this?
For comparison, subsequent polymath projects have had a hard time coming to completion without the presence of a particularly strong and/or famous central mathematician. (The mini-polymaths were advertised by Tao, IIRC.)
Do you think that Tao or Gowers' mathematical talent was critical for the polymath project that you personally participated in? (Focusing on it because you probably know more about it than other ones.)
Yes.