There is something to be said to improving the quality of life as well as saving lives. In scientific and discovery fields such as pure math, contributions could improve the quality of life exponentially.
Quite possibly. Do you have ideas about which math specialties and/or which problems are more likely to have a big effect?
A high school student with an interest in math asks whether he's obligated on utilitarian grounds to become a doctor.
The commenters pretty much say that he isn't, but now I'm wondering-- if you go into reasonably pure math, what areas or specific problems would be most likely to contribute the most towards saving lives?