I have been really hoping that these myths would not be as prevalent today as they are. Personally, I've been greatly influenced by Feynman's great autobiograp

I have been really hoping that these myths would not be as prevalent today as they are. Personally, I've been greatly influenced by Feynman's great autobiography Surely you must be joking, Mr. Feynman![1]. In it, the Noble-prize winning Scientist conveys a worldview that has none of the scientism derided by Grothendieck in this essay. It is a vaccine against scientism, if you may - and a triumph of curiosity, common and uncommon sense. Feynman also coined[2] the description of physics (which I use to describe mathematics as well), that annihilates the high-priest narrative of "reason" as the driving force: Physics is like sex: sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it In the end, we do things because they feel good and because they feel right. Mathematics more so than anything else; we are guided by a sense of beauty and what's interesting. It's an art of story-telling and surprise. Much of science is motivated by emotion and little else: the curiosity to untangle the patterns of how things work, drive to be the first to solve the mystery, the mission of doing the right thing. Without those, science doesn't science. Feynman gave one straightforward example: the military wasn't telling some of the lower-ranking researchers of the Manhattan project what they were working on, and why. They were lagging behind. Once they were told, at Feynman's insistence, that they were a part of a project to build a bomb that would end the war, they exceeded all expectations. Because with that, their work gained a purpose, and gave hope. In the end, how we feel about things is everything. Scientists are just those people who feel good when they find out how things work, just like engineers are those people who feel good when they make things work (or make things that work). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surely_You%27re_Joking,_Mr._Feynman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surely_You%27re_Joking,_Mr._Fe...! [2] Disputed, but it's definitely in his character: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Feynman https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Feynman