![]() ![]() It has often been said that Tripos mathematics was a collection of elaborate futilities, and the accusation is broadly true. In The Case against the Mathematical Tripos mathematician GH Hardy wrote In elementary school I had the vague idea that professional mathematicians spent their time computing digits of pi, for instance, or perhaps devising and then solving Math Olympiad style problems. ![]() Well, I guess they should be warned that their impressions of what professional mathematics is may be quite different from the reality. high school students and young researchers)? ![]() What advice would you give to young people starting out in math (i.e. In a 2003 interview, Fields Medalist Terence Tao answered the question Furthermore, they've become tied to a misleading mythological conception of "genius." I've collected relevant quotations below.Īcknowledgment - I obtained some of these quotations from a collection of mathematician quotations compiled by my colleague Laurens Gunnarsen. Unfortunately, while math competitions may be more representative of mathematical practice than school mathematics, math competitions are themselves greatly misleading. It's common for bright young people to participate in math competitions, an activity which is closer to that of mathematical practice. As I mentioned in Fields Medalists on School Mathematics, school mathematics usually gives a heavily distorted picture of mathematical practice. ![]()
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