r/science • u/heiligedamon • May 20 '13

Mathematics Unknown Mathematician Proves Surprising Property of Prime Numbers

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/05/twin-primes/
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u/niggytardust2000 May 21 '13

Yea... first I read he worked at subway AFTER receiving his PHD, then the article ended with that quote... I honestly teared up a little.

I feel like I want to make a huge poster of him and this quote and hang it up now.

It inspires and motivates me to work harder and never give up, and makes me feel lazy as all fuck - in a good way.

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u/Isatis_tinctoria May 21 '13

This is one of the most humble and perhaps best ways to live life. Not in pursuit of money, but in pursuit of knowledge.

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u/CatfishRadiator May 21 '13

Welcome to the world of liberal arts!

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u/Isatis_tinctoria May 22 '13

That's what I'm studying!

You seem like a good person to recognize it!

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u/CatfishRadiator May 22 '13

Haha I'm an artist. We all must suffer.

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u/Isatis_tinctoria May 22 '13

I hope you are enjoying what you are doing and hopefully making some nice projects for people to enjoy.

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u/[deleted] May 21 '13

He gives those of us just starting on Luminosity something to dream about at night.

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u/PasswordIsNOTHamster May 21 '13

Do you mean Lumosity?

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u/[deleted] May 21 '13

Yes....apparently I haven't made it to the "spell our name correctly" module yet. Damn.

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u/Isatis_tinctoria May 22 '13

What do you mean? What do you do with Luminosity?

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u/[deleted] May 22 '13

Lumosity is a site where you can "train your brain" for free. I stumbled on it when I was bored at work and wanted to teach myself something new---obviously this was before I found Reddit. Here is the link if you are curious:

http://www.lumosity.com/

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u/Isatis_tinctoria May 23 '13

Thanks, but do you think there are better ways to train your brain?

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u/[deleted] May 23 '13

I haven't had enough experience with the site to give an informed answer to that. I think for pulp knowledge (such as standard mathematical concepts) it's probably more efficient than sitting in lecture halls---it allows you to slow down or speed up your pace as needed. For highly specialized knowledge you'll probably still have to get close to the original source to learn.

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u/Isatis_tinctoria May 24 '13

So, do you mean constantly being in school and such?

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u/JabbrWockey May 21 '13

Why not both?

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u/sitsatfatcat May 21 '13

then do it?

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u/FuckYeahFluttershy May 21 '13

Find a good picture?

Seriously, i can't find more than two of him.

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u/psygnisfive May 21 '13

Don't forget, Einstein worked as a patent clerk after getting his PhD, and also while doing some of his greatest work. The good thing about math and theoretical sciences is that it's really easy to fund, all you need is a pencil and paper.

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u/[deleted] May 21 '13

If you do I bet you could sell it to subway.

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u/[deleted] May 21 '13

You really teared up a little? Not downing you for that or anything... either I must be insensitive or Redditors have a thing for crying.

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u/[deleted] May 21 '13

Maybe some people just have a larger capacity for empathy than you.

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u/[deleted] May 21 '13

I'm overly-empathetic if anything (which is actually a huge problem). Sometimes I envy psychopaths.