# Edward Frenkel on Reddit (u/EdwardFrenkel)

Part of Scientists on Reddit, researched with Autumn (https://www.autumn.ai) from public sources. Updated 2026-11-07. Interactive version: https://www.autumn.ai/resources/scientists-on-reddit/edward-frenkel

Edward Frenkel: Mathematician at UC Berkeley, author of Love and Math.

- Reddit account: [u/EdwardFrenkel](https://www.reddit.com/user/EdwardFrenkel/) (AMA only)
- How we know it's theirs: [The 2015 r/IAmA AMA, posted from this account](https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/3diour/)
- Where they post, in the records we retrieved: r/IAmA (146), r/berkeley (1)
- Known activity in the posts we found: 2015 to 2015
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Frenkel

## Moments

### u/EdwardFrenkel in r/IAmA, Jul 16, 2015 · Explains things

Replying to a redditor:

> My whole life I have heard that math is an inter-national/galactic language. So much so that there is some sort of mathematical message on our space probe. In laymen's terms - can you provide me with an example of this? The math 'problem' and the answer and how it translates?…

> If Leo Tolstoy had not lived, we would have never known "Anna Karenina". There is no reason to believe that another author would have written that same novel. But if Pythagoras had not lived, someone else would have discovered exactly the same Pythagoras theorem (in fact, it was discovered before he did it :) Moreover, this theorem means the same to us today as it meant to Pythagoras 2,500 years ago, and it will mean the same to anyone anywhere in the world a thousand years from now. If you think about, you see that there is something "strange" about mathematical knowledge.

(Excerpt.)
Full thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/3diour/comment/ct5qgq1/ · 4 points as of Nov 7, 2026

### u/EdwardFrenkel in r/IAmA, Jul 2, 2015 · AMA answer

Replying to a redditor:

> Hello Dr. Frenkel, big fan of your book! Do you have any advice for an aspiring mathematician just starting his undergraduate career?

> People often get frustrated with math because they feel they "don't understand." But I say: good! Life would be so boring if we could understand everything easily. :) If anything, I should be worried about what I *think* I understand. 90% of the time, when I do mathematics, I do not understand, and this is what drives my passion for learning and discovery.

(Excerpt.)
Full thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/3bvydv/comment/csq0h57/ · 9 points as of Nov 7, 2026