Want to solve the Ultimate Question of Life? Better head to Bath, UK

(June 2024) Fans of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy already know the secret of life, the universe, and everything. As it turns out, a Slovenian math professor knows it as well.

Dr. Gregor Dolinar at the University of Ljubljana is President of the prestigious International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), an annual competition for high school “mathletes” from more than 100 countries.

In the latest Transform Talks interview, Dr. Dolinar tells Huawei Editor-in-Chief Gavin Allen that cultivating a mathematically skilled workforce has never been more crucial.

“Nowadays, maybe some people think artificial intelligence will solve all our problems,” he said. “But I think you still need very smart people who would be smarter than artificial intelligence. Companies with vision recognize the importance of mathematics, and of these bright young people who are good at it.”

Dr. Dolinar said the IMO may start holding regional camps to provide additional training between yearly competitions. And he said he’d like to do more to encourage girls to participate in the International Math Olympiad.

The 65th International Math Olympiad kicks off in July in the English city of Bath. Competitors will have to answer six fiendishly complex mathematics questions, each worth seven marks. And Dr. Dolinar certainly knows what six times seven makes...(The number 42 is The Answer to Everything, The Hitchiker's Guide claims).