[q1w2]

Parent commenter doesn't seem like he'd qualify for any of those since he has no math credentials.

To be honest, it's a tough question. He's clearly a successful senior IT professional (assuming everything he said is true), and so he's probably intelligent. Even if we assume he's mature enough to stay well focused for that period and work hard, it's sort of a toss-up as to whether it's worth us funding it over another candidate.

Then again, there is no other platform like this, so if I had the option between contributing $50 to this person vs doing nothing - I'd rather give $50 to him on the off-chance that he solves (or materially advances) the Collatz Conjecture.

...but also, this speaks to a dysfunction in the Math community, in general. There should be a more constructive online forum for people like him to participate in.