THE idiosyncratic loner is a familiar figure in the annals of mathematical genius. Classic examples include the impoverished Indian clerk Srinivasa Ramanujan a century ago, and Grigori Perelman, who in 2006 turned his back on his peers by rejecting the offer of a Fields medal for his landmark work.
Now this stereotype is being challenged by a thoroughly cooperative way of doing mathematics. The first analysis of the Polymath project concludes that online collaborations set up in the right way can solve problems with unprecedented speed and efficiency (see 鈥淗ow to build the global mathematics brain鈥�). This takes cooperation to a level way beyond that enjoyed by the famously collaborative Hungarian mathematician Paul Erd枚s. Perhaps just as importantly, it also has the potential for drawing in enthusiastic amateurs who would otherwise never have dreamed of doing 鈥渞eal鈥� maths.
The rise of a global mathematical brain may even help redefine what it means to be clever. As of Stanford University , genius 鈥渃ould just be in the union of many minds, each doing nothing more than saying what is obvious to them鈥�.
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