# The Rise of Drunk-Math Parties in San Francisco Tech industry insiders are gathering to solve complex mathematical problems while intoxicated. - **Source:** [The Atlantic](https://www.theatlantic.com) - **Published:** 2026-11-12 - **Topic:** [culture](https://brifing.si/c/culture) - **Original article:** - **On Brifing:** https://brifing.si/s/94af7014-2ea3-4d26-8827-a792f18d4afd ## A Unique Social Ritual In a century-old San Francisco home, young AI industry professionals gather for a unconventional social event known as a drunk-deriving party. Participants consume alcohol while competing to solve complex undergraduate-level math problems from Oxford entrance exams. This gathering blends traditional house party elements with intense, collaborative quantitative problem-solving sessions. ## The Competitive Format Teams are organized based on self-assessed mathematical abilities, ranging from theoretical physicists to writers. The participants have two and a half hours to complete a 13-page exam without the use of calculators. The winning team is determined by a combination of their total exam score and collective blood-alcohol levels. ## Math as Cultural Currency San Francisco is deeply steeped in a quantitative culture where investors frequently discuss scaling laws and exponential growth. This obsession with numbers has become literal as AI models rapidly advance in mathematical capabilities. The city’s tech-focused economy often relies on the belief that machines can drive infinite growth and productivity. ## AI's Mathematical Deluge OpenAI recently announced that an internal model successfully obtained hundreds of mathematical results across more than a dozen subfields. This rapid progress has triggered a crisis among some mathematicians, who view the automation of their discipline as a violent or radical transformation of a field they once considered purely human. ## The Romantic Mathematician For some scholars, mathematics is not just a tool but a form of art and self-expression. Shurui Liu, a Ph.D. student, describes math as a way to build a mental model of the universe. He believes that AI will ultimately accelerate human understanding rather than replace the intrinsic beauty of the discipline. ## Historical Mathematical Influences The tradition of doing mathematics while drinking has historical precedents, such as the 1930s Lviv school where mathematicians like Stefan Banach and John von Neumann worked over cognac. However, the modern version involving standardized entrance exams reflects the specific pressures and competitive nature of 21st-century tech-industry overachievers in San Francisco. ## Edward Frenkel's Perspective Edward Frenkel, a Berkeley mathematician, views mathematics as a bridge connecting human minds to reality. He speculates that mathematical concepts might reside in a collective unconscious, similar to theories proposed by Carl Jung. Frenkel emphasizes that math is intrinsically linked to human interiority, which machines cannot replicate or fully experience. ## The Question of Invention A central debate among mathematicians is whether math is invented by humans or discovered as an independent reality. Complex numbers, conceived in the 16th century, later became foundational for quantum mechanics. This suggests that abstract mathematical objects often describe the physical world in ways that were entirely unforeseen by their creators. ## Vulnerability to Automation Mathematics has proven particularly vulnerable to AI because it is a ruthlessly objective field. Unlike literature, where human genius is often defended against machine generation, mathematical proofs leave no room for subjective dispute. AI excels by synthesizing existing concepts, a task that has become difficult for humans due to the field's expansion. ## Humanity's Unique Capacity Despite AI's progress, mathematicians argue that human experience remains distinct. Humans can fall in love, experience heartbreak, and engage in social rituals like drunk-math parties. These emotional and social capacities are seen as fundamental aspects of human existence that current machine learning models cannot replicate or truly understand. ## The Logic of Play During the party, participants tackle logic problems, such as determining who is lying in a mystery involving four friends. While machines might solve these problems faster, the participants find delight in the process of solving them manually. The activity serves as a form of recreation that highlights the human desire for challenge. ## Reflecting on the Future As AI continues to reshape the landscape of mathematics, the divide between human intuition and machine efficiency grows. While machines may eventually solve every known proof, the human drive to engage with mathematical beauty remains. These parties represent a final, defiant celebration of human intellect in an increasingly automated world. ## Sources covering this story - https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2026/11/drunk-math-party/689364/?utm_source=feed — --- _Summary written by Brifing from the original reporting. Copyright in the original article belongs to its publisher; read the full piece at the link above._