Yeah I think it's really important to distinguish between 'amateur', and 'crackpot' here. Like that amateur stumbling upon that never-repeating tile recently.

Yeah I think it's really important to distinguish between 'amateur', and 'crackpot' here. Like that amateur stumbling upon that never-repeating tile recently. https://www.quantamagazine.org/hobbyist-finds-maths-elusive-einstein-tile-20230404/ https://www.quantamagazine.org/hobbyist-finds-maths-elusive-... It still required academics to confirm it (and I think realize it's significants). In short it's okay to be an academic and it's also okay to be an amateur investigator. Both can and do contribute to the advancement and dissemination of knowledge. Crackpottery and pseudoscience not so much.