"the dark unknown of mathematics"

 Is Shinichi Mochizuki "travelling alone"...?:

Hat tip to The Aperiodical for pointing to this fabulous, longread on Shinichi Mochizuki’s claimed 2012 proof of the ABC conjecture:

http://projectwordsworth.com/the-paradox-of-the-proof/

It's not a technical piece, but an overview of the issues/controversy generated by the proof (including its incomprehensibility!), and the need to resolve its accuracy.
I'd pick out several choice quotes, but it's all so good I just recommend setting aside some time to read the whole article, which does end as follows:

" [Mochizuki] may have found the key that would redefine number theory as we know it. He has, perhaps, charted a new path into the dark unknown of mathematics. But for now, his footsteps are untraceable. Wherever he is going, he seems to be travelling alone."