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Plenty of counterexamples to the claim

https://mathoverflow.net/questions/25630/major-mathematical-...

More counterexamples here too: https://old.reddit.com/r/math/comments/xw8i9w/oldest_person_....

Just curious how many examples that show FIRST major discovery after say 40? I think I spotted a few.

This was an interesting one - a proof by a 67 year old retiree that nobody in the field knew about for 2-3 years after because they didn't read their email.

https://www.quantamagazine.org/20170328-statistician-proves-...

Marjorie Rice. Housewife.

https://www.quantamagazine.org/marjorie-rices-secret-pentago...

Her discoveries first mentioned in a 1988 magazine when she was 65.

The discovery of these pentomino tilings is an interesting achievement and evidence of an exceptional mind, but it's very far from a major advance in mathematics.

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