The 'Mozart of Math' rarely speaks on politics. The wide-ranging cuts to science funding made him change that.
Source: NBC News
Aug. 26, 2025, 5:00 AM EDT
Terence Tao, one of the world’s foremost mathematicians, who is often called the “Mozart of Math,” would rather not talk politics. “I do scientific research,” Tao said. “I vote, I sign a petition, but I don’t consider myself an activist.”
But after the July suspension of $584 million in federal grants at UCLA, which he joined as a faculty member at age 20, Tao said he feels forced to speak out against what he views as “indiscriminate” cuts to science that could drive scientists away from the U.S., including himself, if trends continue.
“I find that this administration in particular has been extremely radical with how it is changing the scientific ecosystem in a way that even the first Trump administration was not,” Tao said. “This is not normal, and I think a lot of people don’t see the damage that is being done.”
Tao is one of the most prominent mathematicians and academics to publicly oppose the administration’s actions, calling them an “existential threat” to his field, and academic science, more broadly. He said public advocacy is a priority over his research, for now.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/mozart-math-rarely-speaks-politics-wide-ranging-cuts-science-funding-m-rcna226033
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Which obviously makes Trump much smarter than him.
