4 ms·
The title immediately reminded of a David Hilbert quote. Upon hearing that one of his students had dropped out to become a poet, he is said to have remarked: "
by messe 3y ago
The title immediately reminded of a David Hilbert quote. Upon hearing that one of his students had dropped out to become a poet, he is said to have remarked:
"Good, he did not have enough imagination to become a mathematician."
- AlecSchueler 3y agoQuite sad to hear that remark. I'm a big fan of Hilbert but that kind of pettiness is sad to see from him. I guess we're all just human.
- hmmmcurious1 3y agoHe's just emphasizing the amount of creativity you need in mathematics research.
- haswell 3y agoIt is possible to provide such emphasis without belittling former students in the process. I’m a bit cautious about this because it’s presented as “he is said to have remarked…”, but cutting people down - especially students - to make some other point is unnecessary and not ideal.
- BSEdlMMldESB 3y agolet's just please not forget that they lived in a different time and place... I'm sure in Hilbert's time there was nothing bad about what he said like there's now. not that I particularly like Hilbert, he gives me a bad vibe because: how do I forgive shitty professors who have refused to help me? how do I let go of the fact they are awful people from a different era? How do I refuse to undergo the rituals which teach things I whish to not learn (certain attitudes) while at the same time making it through those same rituals I reject? and it turns out the professor I speak of IS on D. Hilbert's lineage!
- bjornasm 3y agoHow do you know he is belittling a former student?
- hgsgm 3y agoBecause the quote says so
- arturkane7 3y agoYou will then love Paul Erdos sending a colleague an earnest letter saying he was “praying for his soul” for publishing a paper in the Journal of Applied Probability. This kind of militant snobbery for pure math is common with the greats and shouldn’t be taken personally.
- messe 3y ago> shouldn’t be taken personally I think it also shouldn't always be taken so seriously. In my experience, mathematicians (both applied and pure) tend to have a sense of humour about this sort of thing, and I see no reason to doubt that that wouldn't have applied to at least some of the greats as well.
- AlecSchueler 3y agoWhy should shitting on other fields or their passions be taken less seriously just because it's common for mathematicians to do it?
- TheFreim 3y agoIt's common for people to talk about different fields this way, it's a form of lighthearted rivalry. Not worth getting worked up over it, unless you're an unfunny boring person.
- arturkane7 3y agolol these are meant to be ironic comments, seems you are taking them far too seriously. Look up Erdos’s story to understand his irony.
- AlecSchueler 3y agoI just think it's sad because a lot of people are put off by this kind of snobbery in mathematics. Joking or ironic or not it can still be harmful.
- bjornasm 3y agoYou can interpret it as pettiness or just a humorous remark said with a smile.
- gnatman 3y agoIt's absolutely a joke!
- gobdovan 3y agoTo me it sounds like a tongue in cheek remark because creativity is obviously needed in poetry and is strongly associated with poetry. Sounds like the type of thing a teacher says to get a laugh out of the students. You can give Hilbert more leeway without more context.