Terence Tao

I'm still a bit stunned.

I was not expecting this at all.

I got an email from the Office of the Governor General like a couple of weeks ago and I had no idea what it was about.

But yeah, I followed the links and I had apparently been nominated for this order.

And so, yeah, I agreed to be considered.

And then I got a follow up some weeks later saying that I had actually been a recipient of the Companion Order of Australia.

So, you know, I looked it up, you know, I'm on the same list as like Don Brunson.

Radman and everyone who I knew as a kid, which I don't know what to think about that.

Yeah, well, I mean, I chose to be a mathematician.

I like maths.

And it's not something which is sort of highly celebrated in Australia.

You know, you look at the sporting icons and business leaders and politicians and things.

But, you know, I didn't go into maths because I was hoping to get awards and fame.

That's not really...

That much of a good strategy in math, to be honest.

I liked sort of the challenge of solving problems and sharing what I learned of other people.

But it is really, really nice to be on like this for my home country.

I mean, I wouldn't be where I am today without all the support I got as a kid in Australia.

Well, my parents tell me that when I was two, we went to a friend's place for a party and they caught me teaching like some five-year-olds how to count using these number blocks.

And they asked me how I could do this.