!['I had such fun!', says winner of top maths prize](https://www.americanmarconiwirelessnews.com/media/shared/articles/2a/f0/cc/-I-had-such-fun----says-winner-of-t-414646.jpg)
-
Takeaways from the Democratic National Convention
-
Can Ligue 1 arrest decline after summer of crisis?
-
Harris accepts Democratic nomination with pledge of 'new way forward'
-
Alibaba to upgrade Hong Kong listing amid profit drop
-
Asian stocks slip with Wall St ahead of Powell, yen rises
-
Bayern plot to recapture Bundesliga with Leverkusen in crosshairs
-
Harris accepts Democratic nomination with vow to unite America
-
Conte and Napoli reeling after horror Serie A start
-
Indian desert school's unique design offers respite from heat
-
China's 'throwing eggs' card game wins fans and official censure
-
Volcano erupts in Iceland, sixth since December
-
Paris Paralympics to showcase best of disability sport
-
Bosnia volleyball team sets sights on Paralympic glory
-
Mbappe ready for Bernabeu bow as Ancelotti seeks Madrid balance
-
Australia tackles poor Great Barrier Reef water quality
-
Indian PM Modi to advocate 'peace' on historic Ukraine visit
-
NATO airbase in Germany raises security level over 'potential threat'
-
US Fed chair expected to signal support for rate cuts
-
Venezuela top court confirms Maduro's disputed reelection
-
Once 'canceled,' The Chicks take center stage at Democratic Convention
-
Harris vows to be 'president for all Americans' in convention climax
-
Influencers get VIP treatment at US Democratic National Convention
-
French prosecutors request trial in Depardieu rape probe
-
Influencer Andrew Tate placed under house arrest in Romania in new probe
-
Canada government steps in to end crippling freight rail shutdown
-
Harris poised for joyful star turn at Democratic convention
-
'I love him': Flag-waving Russians rally for pro-Putin pop star
-
Venezuela apex court confirms Maduro's disputed reelection
-
Chelsea give Maresca first win in Conference League
-
Fearing Trump, LGBTQ Americans out in force for vote
-
Apple to let iPhone users in Europe delete its App Store
-
Tebogo tops 200m, Wanyonyi on fire in mixed night for Olympic champs
-
Israel in Gaza talks in Egypt as fighting rages
-
Combining climate measures key to slashing emissions: study
-
Harris to formally accept Democratic nomination
-
England's Hull out in front after first round of Women's British Open
-
Ingebrigtsen claims revenge on Hocker in Lausanne 1500m
-
World's second largest diamond found in Botswana
-
US Open draw raises prospect of Sinner-Alcaraz rematch
-
Smith edges England ahead in first Test against Sri Lanka
-
Venezuela high court confirms Maduro's reelection after fraud claims
-
'Crazy love': Afghans overjoyed to watch star cricketers on home turf
-
Putin accuses Ukraine of trying to attack Kursk nuclear plant
-
Nestle CEO Schneider to step down after eight years at helm
-
Pakistan top court amends religious freedom ruling after protests
-
Stocks sputter ahead of Fed chief's speech
-
Nepal lifts ban on video-sharing platform TikTok
-
Bangladesh revokes diplomatic passport of ex-PM Hasina
-
O'Connor romps to Vuelta win, takes significant lead
-
Indonesia scraps plan to change election rules after protests
!['I had such fun!', says winner of top maths prize](https://www.americanmarconiwirelessnews.com/media/shared/articles/2a/f0/cc/-I-had-such-fun----says-winner-of-t-414646.jpg)
'I had such fun!', says winner of top maths prize
For Michel Talagrand, who won the Abel mathematics prize on Wednesday, maths provided a fun life free from all constraints -- and an escape from the eye problems he suffered as a child.
"Maths, the more you do it, the easier it gets," the 72-year-old said in an interview with AFP.
He is the fifth French Abel winner since the award was created by Norway's government in 2003 to compensate for the lack of a Nobel prize in mathematics.
Talagrand's career in functional analysis and probability theory saw him tame some of the incredibly complicated limits of random behaviour.
But the mathematician said he had just been "studying very simple things by understanding them absolutely thoroughly."
Talagrand said he was stunned when told by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters that he had won the Abel prize.
"I did not react -- I literally didn't think for at least five seconds," he said, adding that he was very happy for his wife and two children.
- Fear of going blind -
When he was young, Talagrand only turned to maths "out of necessity," he said.
By the age of 15, he had endured multiple retinal detachments and "lived in terror of going blind".
Unable to run around with friends in Lyon, Talagrand immersed himself in his studies.
His father had a maths degree and so he followed the same path. He said he was a "mediocre" student in other areas.
Talagrand was particularly poor at spelling, and still lashes out at what he calls its "arbitrary rules".
Especially in comparison to maths, which has "an order in which you do well if you are sensitive to it," he said.
In 1974, Talagrand was recruited by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), before getting a PhD at Paris VI University.
He spent a decade studying functional analysis before finding his "thing": probability.
It was then that Talagrand developed his influential theory about "Gaussian processes," which made it possible to study some random phenomena.
Australian mathematician Matt Parker said that Talagrand had helped tame these "complicated random processes".
Physicists had previously developed theories on the limits of how randomness behaves, but Talagrand was able to use mathematics to prove these limits, Parker said on the Abel Prize website.
- 'Monstrously complicated' -
"In a sense, things are as simple as could be -- whereas mathematical objects can be monstrously complicated," Talagrand said.
His work deepening the understanding of random phenomena "has become essential in today's world," the CNRS said, citing algorithms which are "the basis of our weather forecasts and our major linguistic models".
Rather than creating a "brutal transformation", Talagrand considers his discoveries as a collective work he compared to "the construction of a cathedral in which everyone lays a stone".
He noted that French mathematics had been doing well an elite level, notching up both Abel prizes and Fields medals -- the other equivalent to a maths Nobel, which is only awarded to mathematicians under 40.
"But the situation is far less brilliant in schools," where young people are increasingly less attracted to the discipline, he lamented.
The new Abel winner admitted that maths can be daunting at first, but re-emphasised his belief that it gets easier the more you do it.
He advised aspiring mathematicians not to worry about failure.
"You can fail to solve a problem 10 times -- but that doesn't matter if you succeed on the 11th try," he said.
It can also be hard work.
"All my life I worked to the point of exhaustion -- but I had such fun!" he said.
"With maths, you have all the resources within yourself. You work without any constraints, free from concerns about money or bosses," he added.
"It's marvellous."
Talagrand will receive his prize, including a 7.5-million-kroner ($705,000) cheque, in Oslo on May 21.
B.Finley--AMWN