Re:‘Monumental’ Math Proof Solves Triple Bubble Problem and ...
by vlovich123 on Sunday October 09, 2022 @09:39PM
(#33146980)
The flaw in your reasoning is that you can’t know a priori the value of all discovery. For example, you might make a discovery today that is key to unlocking some critical application that triples the GDP in 100 years. When is the right time to focus on it? How will you know?
The way to think about mathematics is that it’s charting what’s possible and developing new techniques to explore the various frontiers of mathematics. Figuring out practical applications happens later, once you’ve explored. Both are useful but you don’t get the latter without the former. Additionally the skill sets may differ because some people are driven by researching novelty while others are motivated by figuring out novel applications.
There’s so many stories of mathematicians thinking they were working on something useless only for it to become critically valuable. I vaguely recall a story from college about a discrete mathematician that intentionally worked on a “useless” problem space only for that to become the basic research of some branch of digital cryptography decades later.
The way to think about mathematics is that it’s charting what’s possible and developing new techniques to explore the various frontiers of mathematics. Figuring out practical applications happens later, once you’ve explored. Both are useful but you don’t get the latter without the former. Additionally the skill sets may differ because some people are driven by researching novelty while others are motivated by figuring out novel applications.
There’s so many stories of mathematicians thinking they were working on something useless only for it to become critically valuable. I vaguely recall a story from college about a discrete mathematician that intentionally worked on a “useless” problem space only for that to become the basic research of some branch of digital cryptography decades later.