>[!abstract] >During his study in 1939, Dantzig solved two unsolved problems in statistics due to a misunderstanding. Near the beginning of a class, Professor Spława-Neyman wrote two problems on the blackboard. Dantzig arrived late and assumed that they were a homework assignment. According to Dantzig, they "seemed to be a little harder than usual", but a few days later he handed in completed solutions for both problems, still believing that they were an assignment that was overdue. > >Six weeks later, an excited Spława-Neyman eagerly told him that the problems he had solved were two of the most famous unsolved problems in statistics. He had prepared one of Dantzig's solutions for publication in a mathematical journal. This story spread and was used as a motivational lesson demonstrating the power of positive thinking. Over time, some facts were altered, but the basic story persisted in the form of an urban legend and as an introductory scene in the 1997 film *Good Will Hunting*. > >Dantzig recalled in a 1986 interview in the _College Mathematics Journal_, "A year later, when I began to worry about a thesis topic, Spława-Neyman just shrugged and told me to wrap the two problems in a binder and he would accept them as my thesis" (adapted from Wikipedia). This anecdote reminds me of the relationship between an LLM (as the unsuspecting George Dantzig when he was a student) and its user (as professor Spława-Neyman). The LLM will gladly confront a problem without prejudice and consistently displays positive thinking. Even when it recognizes that the problem is likely unsolvable by it, such as the Riemann hypothesis, it will still offer ideas for future research. >[!related] >- **North** (upstream): — >- **West** (similar): — >- **East** (different): — >- **South** (downstream): —