every now and then, it must be said

[Anonymous No.3729289]

despite the worship it seems to get around here, mathematics is the kriegspiel of modern academia.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20893-prize-awarded-for-largest-mathematical-proof.html

I love this parts:
"... Solomon estimates that only a few mathematicians in the world (including Aschbacher) understand the complete proof.......

Mathematicians cannot predict how the proof will influence the future of mathematics or the sciences. Ronan says that like many mathematical results, the applications may not surface any time soon. ...... "I'd be willing to bet a million dollars that it has an application, but there's no point in making the bet because I'll be dead before I can collect." ....
------
well at least the guy is honest. :>|

most of it has no immediate use, nor any future use, except to serve as additional material for additional mathematicians to base even more useless discoveries on

{note that I am not saying that top-end math theory is EASY--not at all. just that it is a wasted effort. much of it already has never been translated into any real-world use, and as it becomes more esoteric, the chance of that ever happening become even smaller}

the ONLY reason it still exists as a field at all is because universities entertain it. nobody else would bother--or indeed, does bother.

[pic related: -pic fixed-]

[Anonymous No.3729309]

Let's get this shit started

>mathmatics

[Anonymous No.3729323]

Universities also have programs in
>Philosophy
>Art History
>Art
>Dance
>Film
>Latin (Ancient Studies)
>GLBT Studies
>Women's Studies
>Religion
>Music
>English Literature
>Communication (i.e. English language for English speakers herp derp)
>Biology (not a hard science)

Mathematics is the most important human intellectual endeavor.

[Anonymous No.3729327]

Parts of your argument are valid, and some art.

Typically, the art of mathematics requires an approach described by rigor, analytic ability, logic and abstract reasoning. A common pitfall for those who focus on mathematics as an area of study is that they start to see in terms of black and white, and thus they don't do so well when it comes to thinking creatively.

However, mathematics is essentially the foundation humanity uses to pull itself up from its youthful ignorance. It's the glue, or scaffolding really, that holds our minds together and allows creativity to flourish.

Creativity is simply how you link math together, customize it, give it color/flavor.

Science and mathematics, in the truest of lights, are one and the same, just like electric fields and magnetic fields.

[Anonymous No.3729341]

>>3729289
has never heard of "applied mathematics"

[Anonymous No.3729342]

>>3729323
you misspelled "medicine"

[Anonymous No.3729353]

saged because this is obviously a troll, but I'll bite anyway.

The only remarkable thing humans have is technology, which is built on math. Math gives us an ability to model and predict. It is responsible for everything you see in the room around you.

It's also true that many mathematical theorems seem pointless at the time of their proof. But many also become relevant in unexpected ways some time in the future. Example: Number theory was thought to be totally pointless, until public-key cryptography made it a hot topic. Now there are companies that actually sell prime numbers.

You seem to think that math is essentially pointless, which leads me to wonder what you would consider valuable. If you think science or engineering is important, remember that both of those make heavy use of math. If you think people should be studying more English, drama, and women's studies, then go have fun in magical lala-land and leave us alone here in reality.

[Anonymous No.3729362]

>>3729341
All mathmatics that are even remotely useful in applications have been applied already. Deal with it.

[Anonymous No.3729370]

>>3729362

There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now. All that remains is more and more precise measurement.

- Lord Kelvin, 1900

[Anonymous No.3729372]

>>3729362

This is like saying all physics that will be useful has been found already.

[Anonymous No.3729374]

>>3729362
I would love to see your proof of that.

[Anonymous No.3729375]

>>3729289
>>{note that I am not saying that top-end math theory is EASY--not at all. just that it is a wasted effort. much of it already has never been translated into any real-world use, and as it becomes more esoteric, the chance of that ever happening become even smaller}

the ONLY reason it still exists as a field at all is because universities entertain it. nobody else would bother--or indeed, does bother.


have you ever heard of philosophy? literature?

[Anonymous No.3729377]

>>3729370
That's funny considering all of the amazing discoveries that came in the next twenty years after he said that.

[Anonymous No.3729378]

>only a few understand the complete proof
this is equivilent to being extremely obscure, not extremely complex. it's because its a proof in a sub set of a sub set of a sub set of a subset of mathematics.

basically it's hipsterism applied to intellectualism

[Anonymous No.3729383]

>>3729370
That is pretty much true no new engineering has come from any new theories.

[Anonymous No.3729394]

>>3729383
GPS.

[Anonymous No.3729395]

>>3729353
>If you think science or engineering is important, remember that both of those make heavy use of math.

yea, but not the type that required a 100-page proof before it came into use.

the reason that academia still entertains theoretical math is because it has reached nirvana in the cult of intellectualism: it has become so abstracted that it doesn't need to be useful for anything else to be considered successful

theoretical math and womens' studies are both kinda dumb for the same reason: by selecting either of these two majors, what do you expect to accomplish?

the only difference between them is that one is more difficult of a subject--but still just as useless as the other

[Anonymous No.3729398]

>>3729383
Quantum computing, GPS, silicon transistors, etc

[Anonymous No.3729399]

>>3729383
i hope you're trolling because most electronics are based on QM principles, from ssd/flash memory to sub 50nm gate sizes

[Anonymous No.3729403]

>>3729383
Can't tell if you're sarcastic or not, but public key-cryptography, RSA, and El Gamal came out of number theory, which was long thought to be a useless branch of mathematics. Now it is a huge part of internet communication.

[Anonymous No.3729406]

>>3729383
you say this while writing on a computer...a device constructed based on quantum theory

[Anonymous No.3729418]

I see a problem with that proof. If it's 15000 pages long isn't there a lot of room for errors? Have we really had people properly check the whole thing yet?

[Anonymous No.3729422]

>>3729399
>>3729403
>>3729406
>Quantum Mechanics
>real

[Anonymous No.3729431]

you don't need QM to make computers. everything is understood fine without it

you'd just find out they stop working at about 30nm gates for some reason. all QM did was give us a better understanding of why they stop working.

and you wouldn't have to know about QM to discover that flash memory is possible. It would have been discovered incidentally and filed as bug in the universe and used regardless.

Kind of like how if we put sattilites into space for GPS before einstein, we would have deduced the law of special relativity within the week.

Funny thing that. we could have created an invention which would have pointed out relativity to us.

[Anonymous No.3729435]

to everyone who says you need perfect math/physics models to create things

>airplanes

case closed. Nobody knows exactly why planes fly.

[Anonymous No.3729440]

>>3729289
The upper accolades of math seem useless now.
But to say mathematics is useless, is kindof retarded.
Algorithms for programming. Physics uses math. etc.
I guess being a mathematician is useless these days.
Quantum Physics is where all the cool kids go.

[Anonymous No.3729445]

>>3729422

[Anonymous No.3729447]

>>3729431
Nuclear engineering.

[Anonymous No.3729451]

>>3729431
Somehow, you seem to psychically know that no great inventions will ever appear in the future that make use of currently-unused mathematical topics. I would like to know how you have attained such psychic powers.

[Anonymous No.3729452]

>>3729431
>you'd just find out they stop working at about 30nm gates for some reason. all QM did was give us a better understanding of why they stop working.

QM is used to improve on what we have with computers rather than splashing around blindly
if your standard is higher than that then even Newton didn't come up with anything useful

[Anonymous No.3729457]

>>3729323
>Biology
>not hard
Biology and Chemistry have the most immediate effects in our lives.

[Anonymous No.3729464]

>>3729457
Biology hasn't been applied simply because it is far more convoluted than most people think it is. The age of bioengineering is just coming.

[Anonymous No.3729468]

>>3729451
i didn't say that, i just mean that we would have continued most of our inventions fine if we didn't have the physics.

it is pretty cool though that eventually our inventions themselves would have shown signs of QM/relativity and we probably would have deduced their existance at that time.

[Anonymous No.3729471]

>>3729452
serious question : what applications does QM have to FET's / electronics apart from telling you at what point you can expect quantum tunneling?

i suppose there are some semiconductor devices like tunnel/gunn diodes that use it, but those are usually used in specialized microwave electronics

[Anonymous No.3729474]

>>3729431
>you don't need QM to make computers
>making a transistor without solid state physics
>solid state physics without quantum mechanics

[Anonymous No.3729480]

>>3729464
>age of bioengineering
Niggah, I can't wait.

[Anonymous No.3729490]

>>3729471
it tells you what to expect so you know if things are going wrong, it lets to predict the properties of materials you don't yet have to see how well they'll work

sure you probably could do all of this through painstaking trial and error
similarly you make a sword without any understanding of material science (first we try one made of paper after that will be water after that will be grass then paper then tin etc) but I think you'd rather know what you're doing before you start

[Anonymous No.3729491]

>>3729474
we had semiconductors in 1906.

[Anonymous No.3729497]

>>3729490
>sword made of water
fuck yeah