I read the news today

I read the news today DID YOU KNOW? The Riemann Zeta Hypothesis was voted to be the most beautiful mathematical problem of the millenium in 2003. One of my friends from high school was voted Most likely to prove the Riemann Zeta Hypothesis if it is actually false. Last year I wrote an entry on a one-question examination that could be used in lieu of an application to admit people to MIT. The question was 1024? and if you immediately responded Hey, thats a power of two! you would be offered automatic admission. I hear that were going to adopt it for the incoming class of 2012. No no, not really. Well, since then Ive seen some comments on other blogs asking things like Oh, I dont know if I should even bother applying to MIT, its so hard and I feel like everybody else is just such a huge nerd, blah blah blah. So yesterday I figured out another test that will tell you if you should apply to MIT. I came across an article on Google news about a reclusive Russian mathematician who solved one of the Clay Mathematics Institute millenium problems and won the Fields Medal for it, and now may refuse both the medal and the $1,000,000 prize awarded for solving any of the millenium problems. The Fields Medal might be better known to you as that thing from the first five minutes of Good Will Hunting. If youre really excited about reading this article now, or if youve already read it before coming across it in my blog, then you should definitely apply to MIT. Well, here you go. According to the article, the mathematician even gave a few lectures at MIT in the Spring of 2003 before disappearing back into the forests surrounding St. Petersburg to pick mushrooms. Oh well, another brush with greatness that I missed. And if youre not excited about the article, hey, dont worry, you could still come to MIT and major in biology or something. Just playin! If you can dream it, you can do it.