AI Isn't Outthinking Mathematicians. It's Out-Remembering Them

# Summary AI systems excel at solving complex mathematical problems not primarily through superior reasoning, but because they have access to vastly larger working memory—an external symbolic workspace that can hold entire problem statements, hundreds of equations, and multiple approaches simultaneously, while human mathematicians are limited by their biological working-memory capacity. Research shows that working memory independently contributes to mathematical performance beyond general intelligence, suggesting that AI's advantage may largely stem from removing this fundamental human constraint rather than developing genuine mathematical intuition.