Silicon Valley giants have awarded $15 million in prizes to mathematicians

The Breakthrough Prize Foundation, which is funded by the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin, and investor Yuri Milner, just doled out five $3 million awards to cutting edge math projects. The Breakthrough Prizes, there have been two previously, are designed to raise awareness of math and make it a more compelling career choice for the young. Sure, $15 million will do that, but really anything that makes people stop and think about how crucial math is to the technology that surrounds us is a good thing. So, what were the prizes awarded for? Well, pause for one moment to realize that “raising awareness” doesn’t equal “making accessible”.