[simonista]

Wow, this is a great story. First of all, props to the writer for weaving a bunch of different threads together in a way that made sense and was understandable to non-mathematicians without dumbing it down too much. And this is why I love math. There are so many great characters and themes in this story.

I love problems that can be stated so simply and yet are so fiendishly difficult to prove.

I love the idea that there is room for everybody in mathematics, from the lone genius outside of academia, to the young post-doc, to the unlikely collaborators.

Most of all, I love the idea that it's okay to fail, to throw out dumb ideas along with brilliant ones and that everyone makes mistakes, even Ph.D.'s in mathematics. We need more of that in education and academia generally.