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Comment by vouaobrasil | Hacker News Reader

This article is just about Haskell. Jazz and pure math are far from hated. Even if many people can't play jazz, they can enjoy it. And let's be honest, nobody even knows what pure math is. Ask anyone who hasn't actually done pure math, and they will have no idea what pure math is. I know because I am a pure mathematician, and I've never met a single person who knows what pure mathematicians actually do.

Actually, let's be honest, there is hardly a soul that knows what Haskell is either. So hate is not really a great word for this title, nor is the use of jazz and pure math.

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During my postgrad years in logic I eventually started describing pure maths as a journey into priesthood. It seemed to be a more relatable analogy for non-maths people - and put a stop to the incessant question of utility that pure mathematicians everywhere have to spin stories around! =P

Pure maths is just practical research, for the knowledge we will need for technology in the year 2500.

How will number theory help us build spears and clubs?

I have a wonderful proof that it actually will, but it won't hold in the narrow space of this comment.

I sincerely doubt most pure math will ever be used.

That is exactly what a person in 1500s would have said about e.g. imaginary number. In fact, this was the opinion on that at the time.

> it was Rafael Bombelli who first set down the rules for multiplication of complex numbers in 1572. The concept had appeared in print earlier, such as in work by Gerolamo Cardano. At the time, imaginary numbers and negative numbers were poorly understood and were regarded by some as fictitious or useless, much as zero once was.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaginary_number

The problem is that I am talking about the majority of research, not a few minority examples.

I still think it’s likely, especially with AI in the picture. 500 years is a long time.

I absolutely agree. People who make that argument are either kidding themselves or looking for funding haha. Everyone I knew in my department was there because they liked it (or because they liked teaching and had to produce papers as part of the job), not because they had ambitions of solving practical problems.

> Ask anyone who hasn't actually done pure math

Here I am.

I think pure math is simply not applied math - so math that is not being done in direct service of a particular goal, such as working out insurance pricing or perhaps ML/AI etc.

So it's essentially about who pays you. Seems fairly clear to me.

I guess the real question is what do you think "do math" means.

What I meant was what it is as a practice, not how it is used. "Applied vs pure" anything could be defined as such and it's not particularly helpful, beyond showing you have a basic grasp of English.

> anything could be defined as such

Not really, because many disciplines are inherently applied. There is, for example, no such thing as "pure teaching", since teaching is always practical.

To me the lack of a practical purpose at the moment is the defining characteristic.

> Jazz and pure math are far from hated.

Here you go, 37 minutes of free jazz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bRTFr0ytA8

Free jazz being unusual and difficult to listen to is sort of a meme. I recommend reading the comments under the video for examples.

Free jazz doesn't encompass all or most of jazz though

Just like pure math and math; perhaps the author meant a more niche subgenre.

Ornette? Yeah!

Never ever, ever read YouTube comments.

> they can enjoy it

Even cows can enjoy music.

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