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Everyone I know who went to his MAA farewell address said it was wonderful. Definitely follow their link to read or hear the whole thing:

https://mathyawp.wordpress.com/2017/01/08/mathematics-for-hu...

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I find the headline and the article in the OP to be a bit misleading. This is not about the general public, or the relationship of individuals to mathematics. It's not a "hey, you should do more maths!" type of motivational speech.

The whole speech is addressed to the leaders of the math community, i. e. the teachers. It's a well-crafted plea for introspection, to find the humanity that was somehow lost along the way.

There's a link at the top of your linked site to an audio recording - maybe it was recently edited in

The Wayback machine does not absolve me—probably I just missed it twice. Thank you.

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