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Terence Tao: Hardest Problems in Mathematics, Physics & the Future of AI | Lex Fridman Podcast #472

Terence Tao is widely considered to be one of the greatest mathematicians in history. He won the Fields Medal and the Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics, and has contributed to a wide range of fields from fluid dynamics with Navier-Stokes equations to mathematical physics & quantum mechanics, prime numbers & analytics number theory, harmonic analysis, compressed sensing, random matrix theory, combinatorics, and progress on many of the hardest problems in the history of mathematics. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep472-sb See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. *Transcript:* https://lexfridman.com/terence-tao-transcript *CONTACT LEX:* *Feedback* - give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey *AMA* - submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama *Hiring* - join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring *Other* - other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact *EPISODE LINKS:* Terence's Blog: https://terrytao.wordpress.com/ Terence's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TerenceTao27 Terence's Books: https://amzn.to/43H9Aiq *SPONSORS:* To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: *Notion:* Note-taking and team collaboration. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/notion-ep472-sb *Shopify:* Sell stuff online. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/shopify-ep472-sb *NetSuite:* Business management software. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/netsuite-ep472-sb *LMNT:* Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/lmnt-ep472-sb *AG1:* All-in-one daily nutrition drink. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/ag1-ep472-sb *OUTLINE:* 0:00 - Introduction 0:49 - First hard problem 6:16 - Navier–Stokes singularity 26:26 - Game of life 33:01 - Infinity 38:07 - Math vs Physics 44:26 - Nature of reality 1:07:09 - Theory of everything 1:13:10 - General relativity 1:16:37 - Solving difficult problems 1:20:01 - AI-assisted theorem proving 1:32:51 - Lean programming language 1:42:51 - DeepMind's AlphaProof 1:47:45 - Human mathematicians vs AI 1:57:37 - AI winning the Fields Medal 2:04:47 - Grigori Perelman 2:17:30 - Twin Prime Conjecture 2:34:04 - Collatz conjecture 2:40:50 - P = NP 2:43:43 - Fields Medal 2:51:18 - Andrew Wiles and Fermat's Last Theorem 2:55:16 - Productivity 2:57:55 - Advice for young people 3:06:17 - The greatest mathematician of all time *PODCAST LINKS:* - Podcast Website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast - Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr - Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 - RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ - Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 - Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/lexclips *SOCIAL LINKS:* - X: https://x.com/lexfridman - Instagram: https://instagram.com/lexfridman - TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@lexfridman - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: https://facebook.com/lexfridman - Patreon: https://patreon.com/lexfridman - Telegram: https://t.me/lexfridman - Reddit: https://reddit.com/r/lexfridman

Lex FridmanhostTerence Taoguest
Jun 14, 20253h 14mWatch on YouTube ↗

Episode Details

EPISODE INFO

Released
June 14, 2025
Duration
3h 14m
Channel
Lex Fridman Podcast
Watch on YouTube
▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Terence Tao is widely considered to be one of the greatest mathematicians in history. He won the Fields Medal and the Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics, and has contributed to a wide range of fields from fluid dynamics with Navier-Stokes equations to mathematical physics & quantum mechanics, prime numbers & analytics number theory, harmonic analysis, compressed sensing, random matrix theory, combinatorics, and progress on many of the hardest problems in the history of mathematics. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep472-sb See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. *Transcript:* https://lexfridman.com/terence-tao-transcript *CONTACT LEX:* *Feedback* - give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey *AMA* - submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama *Hiring* - join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring *Other* - other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact *EPISODE LINKS:* Terence's Blog: https://terrytao.wordpress.com/ Terence's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TerenceTao27 Terence's Books: https://amzn.to/43H9Aiq *SPONSORS:* To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: *Notion:* Note-taking and team collaboration. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/notion-ep472-sb *Shopify:* Sell stuff online. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/shopify-ep472-sb *NetSuite:* Business management software. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/netsuite-ep472-sb *LMNT:* Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/lmnt-ep472-sb *AG1:* All-in-one daily nutrition drink. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/ag1-ep472-sb *OUTLINE:* 0:00 - Introduction 0:49 - First hard problem 6:16 - Navier–Stokes singularity 26:26 - Game of life 33:01 - Infinity 38:07 - Math vs Physics 44:26 - Nature of reality 1:07:09 - Theory of everything 1:13:10 - General relativity 1:16:37 - Solving difficult problems 1:20:01 - AI-assisted theorem proving 1:32:51 - Lean programming language 1:42:51 - DeepMind's AlphaProof 1:47:45 - Human mathematicians vs AI 1:57:37 - AI winning the Fields Medal 2:04:47 - Grigori Perelman 2:17:30 - Twin Prime Conjecture 2:34:04 - Collatz conjecture 2:40:50 - P = NP 2:43:43 - Fields Medal 2:51:18 - Andrew Wiles and Fermat's Last Theorem 2:55:16 - Productivity 2:57:55 - Advice for young people 3:06:17 - The greatest mathematician of all time *PODCAST LINKS:*

*SOCIAL LINKS:*

SPEAKERS

  • Lex Fridman

    host
  • Terence Tao

    guest
  • Narrator

    other

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Lex Fridman Podcast, featuring Lex Fridman and Terence Tao, Terence Tao: Hardest Problems in Mathematics, Physics & the Future of AI | Lex Fridman Podcast #472 explores terence Tao on hard math, fluid chaos, AI, and human insight Terence Tao and Lex Fridman range across some of the hardest problems in mathematics and physics, from Navier–Stokes and Ricci flow to the Riemann hypothesis, primes, and the Collatz conjecture.

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