On: P = NP Proofs: Advice to claimers

[azernik]

There's only one example I've heard of (some Russian guy), but generally they tend to involve innovative approaches within the establishment.

(As said Russian guy proves, sometimes this heuristic fails; but your prior should be that it's likely correct.)

[schuyler2d → azernik]

If you are thinking of Perelman and the Poincare conjecture then I don't think his career really maps to the kind of "outsider" that is described in this thread: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigori_Perelman#Early_life_...

He had a PhD in math with enough success to be offered faculty positions at Princeton and Stanford.

The fact that he recluded from academic life after that doesn't matter.

[Someone → azernik]

I was thinking of some Indian guy and (not as nice of an example) some patent officer in the Swiss patent office.

There also is the nice example of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marjorie_Rice

[dagw → Someone]

I was thinking of some Indian

Assuming you mean Ramanujan. Although he was self taught in mathematics and did much of his work outside the university setting, the vast majority of his significant discoveries and publications where made within the academic framework.