Re:There's never been a better time to go into math (by: 3bl...
by hackyhacky on Monday October 19, 2026 @10:10AM
(#50152740)
> the old approach very much still exists though.
You are willfully misinterpreting the comment. You know exactly what they mean, which is that the meaning behind the craft is gone. The value of performing the craft is not in itself, but in the feeling of creating something of value, something useful to other people.
Re:There's never been a better time to go into math (by: 3bl...
by rubikscube09 on Monday October 19, 2026 @12:27PM
(#50154377)
there is value in the craft itself, and in creating value. now one half of the bargain is gone. you feel like you're just playing games now and not contributing anything (which tbf, math was before to some degree anyway).
Re:There's never been a better time to go into math (by: 3bl...
by zenithirl on Tuesday October 20, 2026 @03:04AM
(#50162343)
I don't get this attitude that there's no point in doing something because a computer can do it better. That just tells me that you don't enjoy the "craft" and only enjoy the part where you get credit for doing something.
It's like playing chess because you want to win and don't care about the part where you play the game. Computers are better at chess too but people still play it because they enjoy it. Does nobody practice mathematics just because they enjoy it?
Agree, I don't buy the notion that mathematics is a craft, it's a pursuit of knowledge. A better analogy might be cartography where people spent a lot of effort mapping unknown regions and now we can take pictures from space. This is both faster and probably more accurate and there are basically no unknown regions left so there's less motivation to do it anymore.
That said, there's nothing stopping anybody from mapping out an area today if they get a kick out of it. The gripe with mathematics is less about the loss of a craft and more about a superior solution replacing the old approach as the best option; the old approach very much still exists though.