Who was the REAL Good Will Hunting? - Numberphile

George Dantzig, William Sidis, Srinivasa Ramanujan? Who was the real Good Will Hunting?
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This video features Numberphile's very own mathematics superstar - Dr James Grime.

NUMBERPHILE

Videos by Brady Haran

[inaccessiblecardinal]

Always loved that movie. I remember working on some trivial model theory problem in grad school, I had the answer, something like a 4 line proof and a diagram. Piece of cake. I knew quite a lot about model theory, so I used that knowledge and tossed off my proof.

Only one other guy had a proof. Mine was obviously right and the prof said "yep, that's right". This other guy, who had very little exposure to logic and model theory, man his page was a mess. He had managed to fill an entire page with some wacky combinatorial reasoning. The prof and I kinda looked at each other and initially said, "I dunno...this is going in a pretty weird direction". As the student started explaining himself, we began to listen. 

Turned out that the kid was right. He had come up with the most difficult way imaginable of solving the problem. Not elegant, not pretty at all, but, I'll be damned, it was right. I realized right then, *I'm not all that smart, I've just read a lot of books*, cuz this kid was light years beyond me talent-wise. And that's how web designers like me are born! Hehe.

[ericnathanstucky]

that's where you cut off the Hardy quote? But the *very next sentence* is: "On the other hand he would have been less of a Ramanujan, and more of a European professor, and the loss might have been greater than the gain."

Great video, obviously >.<

[richardknighton]

i would love to just spend a day with this guy, just to listen to all of the things he loves about math, including mathematicians and his favourite concepts. the way he talks just has such an inspirational feeling to it :P

[canlennyhaveit]

The person who came up with the pigeon wallpaper is the REAL genius in this story :)

[janeblacket-darkroomdivaph]

If only math teachers could show the interest and passion for the subject as this guy does. Honestly, I've always been afraid of maths, but he had me fascinated. A true inspiration...

[JkITZD]

Loving physics but uninterested in math....that's like loving books but hating to read

[Naiuhz]

Oh shit, that moment when I realized the lecture hall they used (at 3:35) was actually a lecture hall in McLennan Physical Laboratories in University of Toronto! I have lectures in those halls every other day.
#UofTPride

[skeptical_citizen]

He is so passionate about mathematics, it's inspiring!

[NoizyInSeattle]

I love this series. What a charming narrator-host.

[spapanek]

I can't help myself. I am not a genious, I am about average IQ, but looking at and listening to Dr Grime makes me feel I would be in love with mathematics if I saw his both enthusiasm and knowledge as a child. Thank you very much for all numberphille videos. Especially with Dr. Grime.

[fencingperson]

"maybe you have to have done a PhD to understand how much I hate him right now"

[sanketjadhavar]

This dude is apparently better than all the maths teachers combined. He makes mathematics sound interesting !!!

[whsdd]

It's hilarious how he said the "I hate him so much right now" part, definitely can relate (IT"S SO HARD) but also love the integrity of that professor, he really stayed true to acknowledge the student's contribution to science

[abramavitrium]

Thank you for these videos Numberphile. It's channels like yours that make education interesting and it is truly an engaging experience to view them.

[MrBoosterfy]

well i failed my collage math high school math exam, re-did it and barely passed that being said im horrible at math. But i have a great appreciation for the subject and my father is 10 times the mathematician (being a geo techincian) that ill ever be, much to his disappointment i bet.

I remember seeing this film and one day hoping i could be the will hunting to my dad. but i never had the mind for it neither the patience. i'm very happy that there are so many people being able to understand and appreciate maths who maybe be able to bring a brighter tommorow

[Duessa]

Thanks for sharing this story James, as a math teacher I love hearing the true stories behind things like this.

[jedi_mapperp]

The George Dantzig homework story is extraordinarily similar one about Stephen Hawking, told by his Oxford math professor. While his dormitory mates worked all week to solve just a few of 13 problems, Hawking drank his way through a crate of beer, uninterested in the homework or school. Hawking started the homework the morning of the day the assignment was due. Later, as class time approached, his dorm mates waited for Hawking to come downstairs. One of his mates asked Hawking how he'd done on the homework. Hawking replied that he'd only gotten the first eleven done (only because he'd run out of time). In typical Oxford form, the professor met with students individually to discuss their work. The professor was obviously impressed, yet noted that Hawking seemed completely indifferent. As Hawking left the professor's office he tossed the homework in the waste basket. His professor commented "Anyone else would have framed it." This was before Hawking was diagnosed with ALS. He would later credit ALS for focusing his attention on doing something meaningful with his life, not knowing if he had months or years to live.

[fredfeinberg]

An even closer match is John Milnor, who mistook the unproved Borsuk Conjecture as a homework problem and solved it. He was 18, and eventually won the Fields Medal.

[thewilltheway]

I’m going to start a PhD pretty soon. Stumbling into a publishable discovery that you figure out in one night would make any academic cry tears of joy, and watching it happen to someone else you get green with envy.

[MOMENTSOFRHYTHM]

There's a film about Ramanujan too, named, "The Man Who Knew Infinity" ! Amazing movie