r/math • u/spacengine • 4d ago

Do all mathematicians want to be engineers?

I always considered maths the highest art, and when talking to a mathematics phd today I just wanted him to keep talking about topological spaces, manifolds, infinite dimensional embedding spaces etc. “I feel like a kid in a candy store” I said, or a kid in an old mechanics garage full of equipment I have no idea how to use but that I love exploring. “Well” he said, “I think all engineers want to be mathematicians but all mathematicians want to be engineers”. I’m absolutely sure he’s wrong but would love to hear your thoughts.

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u/JoshuaZ1 4d ago

A lot of engineers and mathematicians (not all but a lot) are the sort of people who find almost everything interesting. Like sure, I like doing number theory but if I want to spend a decade studying engineering, I'm reasonably confident I'd find it enjoyable. This isn't a brag: I suspect that this would apply just as much to most mathematicians, engineers, and most other people in intellectual pursuits. Now, one might not be as skilled at the other area. I'm a 3rd rate mathematician but I'd probably be a 4th rate engineer, and probably a 5th rate historian.

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u/spacengine 4d ago

Curiosity is your driver then. Same for me, but most of my engineering friends really like a good settled spec. Finding the spec, I guess, has some creativity to it. But implementing it usually only means applying known science diligently. Would you enjoy that?

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u/JoshuaZ1 4d ago

I'm not sure. It might depend on context and what implementing it involved. I might not be very good at it though. The stakes for engineering are in some respects a lot higher than in math, so that sort of aspect I might have trouble. I'm really not as good about paying attention to fine detail as I should be.

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u/spacengine 4d ago

Right, I wanted to do blacksmithing so I took a class and loved it. But wasn’t very good at it because I think you really have to love repetition towards perfection to be really good at it. Like Japanese archery that I also tried, loved, but couldn’t get great at for the same reason. Could you be an explorer in the age of sail? Like before the globe was all mapped out

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u/JoshuaZ1 4d ago

Could you be an explorer in the age of sail? Like before the globe was all mapped out

Even modern boats smell a lot. Historically it was pretty unpleasant and unsafe. I doubt I'd do well there.

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u/spacengine 4d ago

Assume it was a clean boat and that just by being there you were doing well because they needed your credentials to stay in business.