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It would be great to have smart people working on real problems, but problem solving skills without a desire to work on those problems just won't work. I think
by snikolov 15y ago
It would be great to have smart people working on real problems, but problem solving skills without a desire to work on those problems just won't work. I think a lot of mathematicians just like doing mathematics and would be really bored solving "real problems." You could also say it's a huge waste to have gifted problem solvers working on photo-sharing apps when they could be helping the developing world with clean water and energy. Could these problem solvers provide more benefit to the world? Sure. Will they, if they don't enjoy it? Not for long.
The real question is how to inspire people with those skills to tackle important problems.
- taliesinb 15y agoYes, that is exactly the problem. One interesting anecdotes I heard from Stephen Wolfram the other day is the inverse correlation he's noticed between an employee having a post-graduate degree and their general curiosity and knowledge about the wider intellectual world. It's far from a perfect correlation, he said, but it is noticeable. It's probably fair to say that the problem lies largely with universities and the way they structure their curricula and more generally the form of post-graduate studies. I have no idea how to improve matters. But the obsession with early specialization and standardized testing is probably a good place to start.