Participants in the International Mathematics Olympiads (IMO) represent the brightest of the bright. They have very high SAT scores, qualify for the best university programs, and have their pick of virtually any career they wish to pursue. Having these options, do they complete a Ph.D. in mathematics and enter academe or do they move in a different direction?
In his seminal book, A Mathematical Mosaic, Ravi Vakil, Professor of Mathematics at Stanford, traced the careers of a dozen of the IMO superstars following their graduation from university. Described by the San Francisco Chronicle as a “legend in the world of mathematics competitions,” Vakil has won several gold medals at the IMO and distinguished himself as a Putnam Fellow in each of his university years–an achievement equalled by only 7 others since the first Putnam Competition in 1938. It would be expected that Vakil would pursue his passion for mathematics by continuing in academe, but what about the others? A brief summary of the careers pursued by those described by Ravi can be found at: https://www.intelligence-and-iq.com/how-sat-scores-are-correlated-with-wealth/
Yet many of these Olympiad winners, march to the tune of a different drummer as they pursue their university careers and choose a career. Pablo Emanuel, a former IMO Olympiad winner wrote:
For those of you who aren’t old enough to remember, the late nineties were known as “the dot-com bubble”, so, right after graduating, some colleagues and I immediately founded an IT consulting startup. For the first couple of years, I could manage to work on both my company and my PhD, but it was becoming increasingly clear that one of them would have to give. So, the reality is that, as others have said, I haven’t really “failed” at becoming a mathematician, but rather succeeded at having other carreer options that I found more fulfilling. See: https://qr.ae/py4CAO
David Ash reported:
I was an IMO gold medalist in 1981 (albeit that was an easy year with more gold medalists than usual) and a three time Putnam fellow, just missing the fourth time. So I definitely had some success doing the math contest thing as a kid…However at a certain point I recognized that research math is very different from contest math—and I needed mentors to help me make that transition. Research math didn’t necessarily come completely naturally to me without appropriate mentoring.
However I would say the reason I never became an academic pure mathematician was because of the mentoring I received in youth and indeed throughout my adult life even now. I had great mentors during the math contest phase who got me to that point. However the teachers/mentors who seemed to appear at certain critical junctures for me were computer scientists, not mathematicians. I’ve had—and continue to have—some great computer science mentors. That—coupled with the fact that I never seemed to quite hook up with the right math mentor once I got beyond the contest stage and into the research—led to me evolving away from pure math and more into computer science.
Yves Shen answered:
I am from China and all the IMO Olympians that I know are actually IMO gold medalists, so my answer may be biased. Many IMO medalists chose other careers rather than maths. Some are in finance and some others in IT industry—after all the society does not need many mathematicians, and working in industry provides a much better pay with less hours and intensity. So if they are not that into maths it is actually quite wise and good for them to quit maths.
When ChatGPT was asked to compose an answer to the question “Why do IMO Olympians fail to become mathematicians?” it yielded the following:
There is no definitive answer to this question, as there are many factors that can contribute to why some Olympians may not become mathematicians. Some possible reasons might include a lack of interest or aptitude in mathematics, a lack of opportunities or resources to pursue a career in mathematics, or a lack of support or guidance from educators or mentors. Additionally, it is important to note that becoming an Olympian is a highly competitive and demanding process that can require a significant investment of time and energy, which may make it difficult for some Olympians to also pursue a career in mathematics. Ultimately, it is likely that a combination of factors plays a role in determining why some Olympians may not become mathematicians.
Did the ChatGPT capture the issues as well as the humans?
