# who is considered the greatest 20th century mathematician **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 25, 2014, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-considered-the-greatest-20th-century-mathematician/689250 "2014-05-25T23:55:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![thanatic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/97f17d/32.png) [@thanatic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thanatic)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2014, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-considered-the-greatest-20th-century-mathematician/689250/1 "2014-05-25T23:55:24Z")
who is considered, the general consensus of the mathematical community, the greatest mathematician of the 20th century? ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2014, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-considered-the-greatest-20th-century-mathematician/689250/2 "2014-05-25T23:57:09Z")
\*One man deserves the credit, one man deserves the blame, and \*_Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky is his name!_ ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2014, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-considered-the-greatest-20th-century-mathematician/689250/3 "2014-05-25T23:59:14Z")
Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Seriously, isn’t John von Neumann generally considered the holder of that office? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2014, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-considered-the-greatest-20th-century-mathematician/689250/4 "2014-05-26T00:08:21Z")
Paul Erdős is my pick. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2014, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-considered-the-greatest-20th-century-mathematician/689250/5 "2014-05-26T00:20:13Z")
- One man deserves the credit, one man deserves the blame, and Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky is his name! \* 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2014, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-considered-the-greatest-20th-century-mathematician/689250/6 "2014-05-26T01:08:44Z")
Oh good, this thread again. thanatic, why don’t YOU tell us who you think it is? ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2014, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-considered-the-greatest-20th-century-mathematician/689250/7 "2014-05-26T02:23:42Z")
Roger Penrose is at least worth noting. (He loses much credibility for his book “The Emperor’s New Mind,” where he exceeded his reach, but his actual serious mathematical work is some of the best ever.) ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2014, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-considered-the-greatest-20th-century-mathematician/689250/8 "2014-05-26T02:37:19Z")
First name that popped into my mind was David Hilbert, who arguably set the course for 20th century mathematics with his famous “23 problems.” But this is kind of like asking who’s the most beautiful actress. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2014, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-considered-the-greatest-20th-century-mathematician/689250/9 "2014-05-26T03:11:10Z")
[Von Neumann was the most brilliant man of the 20th century - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=721888) - Van Neumann [Ed Witten is the smartest man in the world - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=719907) - Ed Witten [can we say Carl Gauss is the greatest mathematician to ever live - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=719234) - Carl Gauss [why is ed witten considered the best? - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=689456) - Ed Witten, again [how does Sylvester James Gates compare to Ed Witten - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=689305) - Sylvester James Gates [top 5 living mathematicians - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=684114) - Top 5 mathematicians [who are the most brilliant physicists - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=685459) - Top 5 Physicists Why don’t you just create one thread and stick with it? ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2014, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-considered-the-greatest-20th-century-mathematician/689250/10 "2014-05-26T03:14:13Z")
He isn’t satisfied with an existence proof, but wants a construction proof. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2014, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-considered-the-greatest-20th-century-mathematician/689250/11 "2014-05-26T03:39:15Z")
Nobel Prize winner John Nash? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2014, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-considered-the-greatest-20th-century-mathematician/689250/12 "2014-05-26T16:30:23Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > [Von Neumann was the most brilliant man of the 20th century - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=721888) - Van Neumann > [Ed Witten is the smartest man in the world - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=719907) - Ed Witten > [can we say Carl Gauss is the greatest mathematician to ever live - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=719234) - Carl Gauss > [why is ed witten considered the best? - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=689456) - Ed Witten, again > [how does Sylvester James Gates compare to Ed Witten - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=689305) - Sylvester James Gates > [top 5 living mathematicians - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=684114) - Top 5 mathematicians > [who are the most brilliant physicists - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=685459) - Top 5 Physicists > > Why don’t you just create one thread and stick with it? If he wants to determine who the most influential scientists are in a variety of fields why does he have to justify that to anyone? As for the OP, I have no idea. Math was never my strong suit. Either way, how do you define ‘greatest’? Does a mathematician who is better at applied mathematics that leads to tech revolutions better than one who engages in purely theoretical math? Also how can you determine what is better and what isn’t in the field? Plus with science it seems that innovation tends to come based on previous innovation, so if person X didn’t invent it, someone else may have. So how do you determine if a mathematician is creating something that nobody else would’ve been able to invent, vs someone who is taking existing knowledge and adding to it in a way that probably would’ve been done by someone else at roughly the same time had the original person failed? It seems like splitting hairs among a few dozen contenders, and I’d be surprised if any one truly stood above the other dozen or so. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2014, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-considered-the-greatest-20th-century-mathematician/689250/13 "2014-05-26T18:05:20Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > If he wants to determine who the most influential scientists are in a variety of fields why does he have to justify that to anyone? It’s not a variety of fields - they’re all about mathematics. Sometimes he announces who it is; sometimes he just asks. He NEVER comes back to actually participate in the discussion. They’re all drive-by posts. It’s annoying and a waste of everyone’s time. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2014, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-considered-the-greatest-20th-century-mathematician/689250/14 "2014-05-26T18:35:30Z")
Why aren’t we critizing the OP of all the “How many (insert league) games have you been to?” ---
**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:** [May 26, 2014, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-considered-the-greatest-20th-century-mathematician/689250/15 "2014-05-26T19:17:46Z")
For the first half, Hilbert, for the second half I go for Grothendieck. He made major contributions to analysis (to the point that one of my professors called him the greatest 20th century mathematician before 1960. But starting in around 1957 (with his great Tohoku paper) and continuing in the 60s until he retired around 1970, he totally revolutionized geometry. He retired to take up the issue of Survival and is now well off the deep end. Erdos is not in his class; I know a dozen better than Nash (and did do anything beside game theory) and von Neumann’s contributions were not in the same class. I suppose an argument could be made for Witten. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2014, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-considered-the-greatest-20th-century-mathematician/689250/16 "2014-05-26T23:01:21Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > It’s not a variety of fields - they’re all about mathematics. Sometimes he announces who it is; sometimes he just asks. He NEVER comes back to actually participate in the discussion. They’re all drive-by posts. It’s annoying and a waste of everyone’s time. Exactly. If there was a single discussion thread, or even a few discussions involving different fields then I would wish him all the luck in the world. But I find it difficult to take him seriously when he asks the same question with a slightly different seed and then never gets involved in the discussion. > [@etv78](#): > > Why aren’t we critizing the OP of all the “How many (insert league) games have you been to?” I answered the first one I saw (MLB) but then when I realized there were about a dozen I lost interest and bowed out. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-considered-the-greatest-20th-century-mathematician/689250/17 "2014-05-27T11:55:14Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > If he wants to determine who the most influential scientists are in a variety of fields why does he have to justify that to anyone? It’d be nice if he participated in ANY of them, don’t you think? It’s typical drive-by board behavior - he offers no opinion in the OP, and never comes back to comment. I think it’s absolutely fair to warn any posters that if they were hoping for an interesting discussion from the OP, they’re in the wrong thread.