Whenever I hear this claim about younger mathematicians I wonder if it still holds true (or really did historically). For example, Andrew Wiles proved Fermat’s Last Theorem in his 40s and there are numerous examples of productive older mathematicians. But also I think the claim skews towards big flashy problems rather than the work of building mathematical frameworks, finding structural insights and finding connections between disparate areas (which requires broad experience rather than just young intensity).
> there are numerous examples of productive older mathematicians
Curious about the extreme cases. Did any centenarians ever managed to come with an outstanding original math result? If it didn't happen before, I hope to see it happening in the next decades, given current demographic trends.
I was told that a book published in honor of Oscar Zariski's 80th birthday included a paper by Oscar Zariski, either proving or at least making progress on a longstanding conjecture by Oscar Zariski.
I was in the relevant department at the time (Harvard math), but I wasn't much of an algebraic geometer, so I took that at face value without probing for details.
That seems like a pretty weak argument. I don’t think he was just filling in easy details for the next decade plus. Also, even 33 is quite a bit older than the commonly claimed early 20s needed for great mathematical work.
