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As a disclaimer, I've a Ph.D. in mathematics and work professionally as a mathematician. That said, this sentiment is something that I'm very sensitive to. I'
by kxyvr 10y ago
As a disclaimer, I've a Ph.D. in mathematics and work professionally as a mathematician. That said, this sentiment is something that I'm very sensitive to.
I've a problem with your phrasing because I feel it implies that to be a successful mathematician someone needs to operate at the level of someone like Andrew Wiles or Terry Tao. More generally, the question to me is whether mathematics should be treated differently than any other field like engineering, law, or cooking. To me, the answer is no. I believe that becoming a professional mathematician is primarily about hard work and long hours. Of course, natural talent helps, but it helps in every field. Very specifically, even if someone is not born with some kind of natural talent for math, with sufficient training I believe that most people can be successful professionally as well as provide new results that aid everyone in the field. And, again, I don't believe that this is any different than any other field. With enough training, someone who can figure out a way to burn a bowl of cereal can become a wonderful cook. They may not become Julia Childs, but they don't need to be. Further, they can create new dishes that everyone can enjoy and benefit from.
Again, the core of my point is that most people I interact with believe that mathematics is special from all other fields. It's something that I strongly disagree with. I believe that this sentiment discourages people from entering the field. On a personal level, I find it alienating because it creates an artificial social separation.
In any case, I'm glad people are talking about this and, certainly, these are just my thoughts.
- b_emery 10y ago> Very specifically, even if someone is not born with some kind of natural talent for math, with sufficient training I believe that most people can be successful professionally as well as provide new results that aid everyone in the field. You sum it up very well - I completely agree. I might not have the genes to be Einstein, but I can be a professional scientist. A very important point that is often missed.
- sn9 10y agoAnd to turn it around, you might actually have the genes to be the best. But if you never put in the thousands of hours of quality work necessary to brush up against that genetic ceiling, you'll never know. I find that this is case in >99.9% of the people who say they don't have the genes for something.
- jknoepfler 10y agoI find that people have a very thick illusion of understanding when it comes to academic work. It is very difficult to understand that everyday progress in say, developmental neurobiology, happens largely by dint of professionals working 45-50 hour weeks. It's hard work, it requires a great deal of training, intelligence, and diligence. It doesn't require genius, as much as it requires hard work and a little good fortune. The illusion of understanding leads us to boil down knowledge creation to "aha" moments, when it is in reality a long slog of reading, managing a lab, reviewing articles, doing lab work, writing, teaching, debugging stats or code, thinking, shopping for lab equipment, etc. all of which are messy human tasks that actually constitute advancing knowledge.