Terence Tao’s groundbreaking maths formula is so simple, anyone can follow it |
Terence Tao’s groundbreaking maths formula is so simple, anyone can follow it
June 9, 2026 — 5:00am
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I never need an excuse to talk about the great mathematician Terence Tao.
So when the governor-general, Sam Mostyn, on Monday named Terence Tao a Companion of the Order of Australia in the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours, the highest grade in the civilian list, I was immensely proud.
Let’s celebrate Terry’s eminent service to the mathematical sciences, to the global mathematics community, and to tertiary education and academia, by checking out one of his most famous discoveries. Even better, it’s a discovery you will understand.
Tao was born in Adelaide in 1975, could count and read by age two, was sitting in on Flinders University maths lectures by 11, enrolled full-time at 14, had bagged a Princeton PhD by 21 and has won more awards than you can point an abacus at.
Most impressively, he scored the Fields Medal (maths’ closest thing to a Nobel) in 2006. He........