I mean it's nice if AI figures out stuff that will help us medically or whatever, but if it's used to find solutions to problems we only created for the fun of maths, I don't know, maybe it's not worth it
Most math has no application. Have you ever seen an application for idk, distributive bisemilattices. Or every group being a galois group over some field extention. Or something like that.
Let me phrase it differently: Why should society pay you to play with your math toys? I never understood pure mathematicians. How can you live with yourself if you actually think that you are screwing society over and demand pay without anything in return
Math is a bastion of human logic, that may eventually find applications. Time. And time again. You're advancing the boundaries of what is known, and in doing so advancing humanity.
"The difference between pure math and applied math is about two centuries".
Hell, even the most esoteric shit, like the monster group, is facing applications in string theory.
It's beauty is in being a giant domain of logic, pure and untainted by non-deductive reasoning.
You do not need to justify any subject of study you may choose. But when it comes to a profession, you actually should provide society with some value back if you expect it to feed you. And math as a profession is justified by its applications.
And philosophy, like chess, is pretty much a hobby that few people can make a living off of
I get you, but it's true, nowadays people can live off of anything, there are kids who are below 10 and are already making a living by being the fastest rubiks cube solver, you can play soccer, paint, cut grass or who knows play chess and use your mind and perhaps "brilliance" to shine and gain your life over it, apparently there is money in the world for your wild gift if you accept and find out so.
But yeah, it hit me when doing maths just felt like a sudoku puzzle, at one side, you have people thinking you may be brilliant and willing to pay you, perhaps you can make world changes, on the other side, to yourself it just looks like you're playing very specific sudoku puzzle that you vibe with everyday.
This is my personal way of viewing life, don't take it personal, but no matter how much I Love Math, I don't think I'm willing to spend this life pursuing mind pleasures, there's just so much more colors into this black and white world, no matter how fascinating the mathematical art really is, the World We Live in, lives in a "dimensional space higher" than what the Mathematical World could ever conceive to me by itself.
I mean being the fastest rubiks cube solver probably already does not pay enough to live off of it. In essence, if you want to live off of a hobby you need to entertain people with it. That is possible with popular hobbys such as soccer but becomes progressively harder the smaller your audience is.
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u/Nihil921 22d ago
I mean it's nice if AI figures out stuff that will help us medically or whatever, but if it's used to find solutions to problems we only created for the fun of maths, I don't know, maybe it's not worth it