Spot on. Pure, fun math does benefit society directly in at least one way, however, in that the opportunity to engage in it can be used to lure very smart people into otherwise unpalatable teaching jobs.
In fact, that seems to be the main point of "research" in most less-than-productive fields (i.e. the humanities).
Pure, fun math does benefit society directly in at least one way, however, in that the opportunity to engage in it can be used to lure very smart people into otherwise unpalatable teaching jobs.
Is it clear that this is in the best interests of society? It would seem to me the end result is bad teaching. Back when I was in undergrad, the best researchers were the worst teachers (for obvious reasons- they were focused on their research and didn't at all care about teaching).
When I was in grad school in physics, the professor widely considered the str...
Another month has passed and here is a new rationality quotes thread. The usual rules are:
And one new rule: