The title immediately reminded of a David Hilbert quote. Upon hearing that one of his students had dropped out to become a poet, he is said to have remarked:
"Good, he did not have enough imagination to become a mathematician."
"Good, he did not have enough imagination to become a mathematician."
I’m a bit cautious about this because it’s presented as “he is said to have remarked…”, but cutting people down - especially students - to make some other point is unnecessary and not ideal.
not that I particularly like Hilbert, he gives me a bad vibe because:
how do I forgive shitty professors who have refused to help me? how do I let go of the fact they are awful people from a different era? How do I refuse to undergo the rituals which teach things I whish to not learn (certain attitudes) while at the same time making it through those same rituals I reject?
and it turns out the professor I speak of IS on D. Hilbert's lineage!
This kind of militant snobbery for pure math is common with the greats and shouldn’t be taken personally.
I think it also shouldn't always be taken so seriously. In my experience, mathematicians (both applied and pure) tend to have a sense of humour about this sort of thing, and I see no reason to doubt that that wouldn't have applied to at least some of the greats as well.
Joking or ironic or not it can still be harmful.
Neither of them genuinely dislikes the other's field/passion, they're actually very appreciative of each other's skills. It's just a very common kind of humor.
Women like R.O have contributed to all those fields since the 1980s .. but then they've been surrounded by others like C.P to take the edge off the boof heads.
https://www.science.org.au/profile/robyn-owens
https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/persons/cheryl-pra...