@irisce2799
Both his parents are Professors of Math at Indiana University and have PhDs in math from Princeton University. His father won a Gold Medal in the International Math Olympiad, tying for the highest score. Daniel's Uncle on his mother's side is a Fields Medal winner. High intelligence runs in families...
@fabianomenezes5892
You can clearly tell how talented he is based on how confortable he was explaining his finding, I mean anyone can learn the formula to the fourrier transform in a day from wikipedia, but being able to draw high level abstractions from it, and using them in practice in novel ways goes to show how different he is from the rest, and by a large margin, as Granville stated. I love it, thank you Quanta for the video, and congratulations to Larsen for his amazing discovery!
@patrickjoyce244
I went to high school with him. Dudes an actual genius
@doggosuki
its always nice to see someone like this act so humble
@Cadisainmduit
This kid is so humble. He doesn’t even realise it when he said ‘don’t be afraid to write these big names they’ll write back’ that they probably don’t usually write back. But they wrote back to him, because he is working at a PHD level or higher! One day he will be one of those big names. What an amazing person he is
@raicyceprine8953
Imagine being a pioneer of a mathematic theory at the age of 17. He's definitely exceptional even amongst the other prodigies. We've watched many stories of prodigies who just ends up doing what every other people already know. But contributing something new to the world is rare especially nowadays since most discoveries are done by big institutions and not by a sole man. Knowing a story like Daniel Larsen is refreshing. He has lot of years ahead of his life yet his name is already set to be remembered for generations to come. Truly an amazing kid
@bidoofus7921
Man, I'm sitting here at my university as a graduate student working on a big assignment for my advanced numerical analysis class, been struggling all semester, stuff like that...When they showed some of Larsen's work here, which by the way is a lot more advanced than anything I'm doing right now, my jaw just dropped, haha. It both blows my mind and really puts into perspective just how amazing some people out there really are. Incredible stuff to see!
@fletchercobb4398
I think what makes him so cool is not how he make a mathematical breakthrough, but rather how the takeaway he gave to the viewers is that the great people can respond to you. That shows a humility that I find extraordinary.
@betaradish9968
I am 40. I decided that I wanted to learn mathematics and now doing a degree. I love number theory. And seeing this guy I now want to study more. Normally you have older people been role models to younger people. This man is a role model to an older man.
@homz83
You read and see stories about high school "geniuses" often, and they're almost always blown out of proportion. But Larsen is the real deal. That's an amazing level of understanding and complexity that he has mastered at a young age. He is a true genius.
@johannsebastianbach3411
He seems like not just a genius but also genuinely a really nice caring person! Hope he gets a fields medal one day!
@manny6479
Apart from his maths genius, his complete humbleness & respect for others is incredibly refreshing to see in today’s world and an inspiring lesson to us all - whatever you do, keep working at it & give it your best, you never know where it will take you & stay true to good, honest values..
@hugojj101
What a legend. Clearly both creative and logical and also just nice, cares about the community and encouraging people to speak to top mathematicians due to the value it could have for both sides as well as maths and it's practical applications. Just wikid.
@xyzct
His last point that one shouldn't be afraid to email "big names" is a good one. I have humbly emailed people who I thought wouldn't give me the time of day, and I have always gotten wonderful responses.
@lagunamusic7686
A truly intelligent person can explain something complex to people in a way that’s easy to understand. This kid is talented.
@eh1702
He is a very good communicator. His analogies really help a person like me (literally innumerate) to get the broad gist of what it’s about. He seems to have a kind of mind that immediately sees possibilities in things beyond the context they appear in.
@G5349
I can see a Fields Medal in this young man's future. So brilliant and hard working.
@darthasavage7213
Dan seems like a very valuable addition to math theory he does a solid job of explaining how he tackled this problem which often is the most crucial job of teachers imo.
@arrau08
Well I'm just an old mediocre scientist always in a survival mode in my research area, and looking back I didn't know the names of big shots even when in college. His respect for top-tier scholars is another proof of his genius. Everythings's so impressive about this young man.
@QuantaScienceChannel