[someplaceguy]

I'm sorry, I don't get it. What are you suggesting to be the motivation to remain anonymous in this case?

[jebarker]

I didn't mean to suggest anything. I was just interested in whether they thought that remaining anonymous was in keeping with their ex-colleagues character. Written communication is hard!

[DaiPlusPlus]

Prevents embarrassment if it turns out one’s idea is wrong, I suppose.

[someplaceguy]

The person in question formalized the entire proof in Coq, which certifies its correctness.

To me, that makes your conjecture very unlikely to be true...