GPT-5.6 Closed a 30-Year Math Gap. Nobody Noticed.
On July 17, 2026, a post hit the top of Hacker News with 513 points and 328 comments. It linked to a Reddit r/math thread where a researcher detailed how GPT-5.6 Sol — guided by a carefully constructed prompt — proved that convex optimization over a standard function class requires Omega(d^2) function evaluations. That lower bound matches the upper bound of an algorithm published thirty years ago. The gap is closed. The complexity is settled.
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The same week, the same model's consumer coverage consisted of token-cost calculators and settings walkthroughs. The divergence is not accidental. It is the story.
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