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Conversely, mythologizing/lionizing mathematicians like that is one of the more annoying habits our field has, and I'm glad it's dying out. There are people doi
by eastWestMath 9y ago
Conversely, mythologizing/lionizing mathematicians like that is one of the more annoying habits our field has, and I'm glad it's dying out. There are people doing fantastically innovative work that's outside of the mathematical mainstream. It took the Oxford quantum computing group years until categorical quantum mechanics taken seriously, because it was so different than what the "great mathematicians" before them had done.
- 68c12c16 9y agoQuite true...and I think my point largely concurs with yours, in that it is the scholastic content, instead of the administrative formalities, that should be valued... I am not complaining about the giants are dead; I am complaining that the spirit of pursuing something truly great in academia seems to be fading out -- but of course, different people are most likely to see the world differently. Perhaps you still can enjoy that great atmosphere of pursuing truth rather than profits, which I feel really really glad to see and it helps me to restore some faith...It is just that perhaps these days I have seen a lot of dark lunatic side of academia that makes me feel pessimistic...