# top 5 living mathematicians

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-living-mathematicians/651954>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [March 4, 2013, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-living-mathematicians/651954 "2013-03-04T01:14:14Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Xdflk333](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/f14d63/32.png) [@Xdflk333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xdflk333)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-living-mathematicians/651954/41 "2013-06-18T07:02:38Z")

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> [@kjckjc](#):
>
> Danica McKellar. You didn’t really define what they had to be the “top 5” in.

You picked her 'cause she’s a chick and you thought you were making some kind of “statement,” right? :smack:

The PC loons will reward you with a thousand androgynous bisexual virgins.

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**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-living-mathematicians/651954/42 "2013-06-18T13:23:56Z")

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[Ian Malcolm,](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS9D6w1GzGY) for sure.

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**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-living-mathematicians/651954/43 "2013-06-18T18:39:21Z")

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It’s hard. I would put Alexandre Grothendieck at the top of my list. There is one person in contact with him (Jean Malgoire–not Magloire) and I imagine he will inform the world when AG dies. I think Shelah may be next. I would not put Wiles in the top. Impressive, sure, but he built on imposing work of others and a graduate was a coauthor of the paper (showing that a certain complete ring was a complete intersection) that finally filled the gap in his first attempt. Same with Perelman. Again, impressive, but based so heavily on the work of others. While both Grothendieck and Shelah built their theories from scratch. Same with Goedel, but he’s more than 30 years deceased. You could make a very strong case for Serre. Beyond that, it is a crapshoot.

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