I think that's a really unfair characterization of GP's post. They didn't talk about "target where the ball is going" as am empty platitude - they specifically pointed out that they need to plan for a career that will last ~40 years, and on the contrary a lot of these posts by math luminaries seem to be filled with a lot of "hopium" and platitudes that won't help pay the bills if it turns out the world needs a ton fewer mathematicians.

> What specific direct advice would you give then if you could talk to someone who is currently studying math?

Do it for personal satisfaction, but find another way to pay the bills.

FWIW, I did like that the article at least acknowledged that the fundamental question is whether LLM-based approaches will eventually "max out", i.e. will they be limited to the "convex hull of ideas outlined in literature" as the article out it.

If LLMs do eventually hit a wall, then great, humans will still have a role to play. If not, though, we're all completely fucked - none of this nonsense about "humans managing agents" or providing "unique human insight" and what not, as agents will be more than capable of managing themselves and providing superior insight.