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A Poet of Computation Who ncovers Distant Truths
Theoretical computer scientist Constantinos Daskalakis will receive the Rolf Nevanlinna Prize for explicating core questions in game theory and machine learning.
Credit: Cassandra Klos for Quanta Magazine
Scroll down to the bottom of Constantinos Daskalakis' web page — past links to his theoretical computer science papers and his doctoral students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — and you will come upon a spare, 21-line poem by Constantine Cavafy, "The Satrapy."
Written in 1910, it addresses an unnamed individual who is "made for fine and great works" but who, having met with small-mindedness and indifference, gives up on his dreams and goes to the court of the Persian king Artaxerxes. The king lavishes satrapies (provincial governorships) upon him, but his soul, Cavafy writes, "weeps for other things … the hard-won and inestimable Well Done; the Agora, the Theater, and the Laurels" — all the things Artaxerxes cannot give him. "Where will you find these in a satrapy," Cavafy asks, "and what life can you live without these."
For Daskalakis, the poem serves as a sort of talisman, to guard him against base motives. "It's a moral compass, if you want," he said. "I want to have this constant reminder that there are some noble ideas that you're serving, and don't forget that when you make decisions."
The decisions the 37-year-old Daskalakis has made over the course of his career — such as forgoing a lucrative job right out of college and pursuing the hardest problems in his field — have all been in the service of uncovering distant truths. "It all originates from a very deep need to understand something," he said. "You're just not going to stop unless you understand; your brain cannot stay still unless you understand."
Today, Daskalakis' contributions have been recognized with the Rolf Nevanlinna Prize, which is awarded every four years and is considered one of the highest honors in theoretical computer science. The award cites his "powerful body of results" that explicate core questions in economics about how rational players behave in games and markets, as well as his more recent work in machine learning.
"I really can't think of anyone else who has been a leader and influencer in so many areas," said Éva Tardos, a computer scientist at Cornell University. "It's amazing and it's impressive."
From Quanta magazine
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