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This is a little narrow-minded. The process of doing mathematics is mostly diligence and hard work, and the higher up you go the more work you have to put in to
by j2kun 11y ago
This is a little narrow-minded. The process of doing mathematics is mostly diligence and hard work, and the higher up you go the more work you have to put in to reach those moments of insight and clarity that make the struggle worth it.
If your argument is that there is a blurry line between recreation and work when you love your job, then sure. Maybe the average person will believe that in some abstract intellectual sort of way. But I don't think you'll convince any mathematicians that their entire job is recreation. By analogy, I don't think you'd convince any world-class musicians that their entire job is recreation when they're doing music drills and rehearsing for ten hours a day.
- joe_the_user 11y agoNeither puzzles = the most fun part of math nor puzzles = the best, most significant part of math. is always true. Sometimes, sure but the entire math terrain is complex and shouldn't be reduced to pure puzzles, pure progressions of abstraction or any other simplistic view.
- agentultra 11y ago... but there is a certain amount of joy and amusement to such endeavors, isn't there? Why else suffer the rote exercises? For the money? It is a recreation, of a kind, that shouldn't be taken for granted even after doing rote derivations for ten hours a day. If you enjoy it that ten hours is rarely enough. That's how I interpreted the OP.