Re: Sociological/Psychological Phenomenon

From: David C. Ullrich (ullrich_at_math.okstate.edu)
Date: 05/31/05 

Date: Tue, 31 May 2005 11:18:02 -0500

On 31 May 2005 08:15:33 -0700, "Pubkeybreaker"
<Robert_silverman@raytheon.com> wrote:

>I am curious about something.
>
>What is it about math and crypto that makes an amateur
>believe that he/she can actually come up with a new theorem
>or algorithm that has somehow been miracuously missed by
>large numbers of previous (or current) mathematicians???

Maybe it's the fact that an amateur _can_ come up with
significant new results in those fields?

>I am sure that these same people would not post their ideas
> for (say) a new neuro-surgical technique. They do recognize
>that they have no competence.
>
>What is it about math in particular, as opposed to other
>technical fields of knowledge, that amateurs are unable to
> recognize their lack of competence? People are certainly
>able to recognize that they know nothing about surgery.
>Why do they fail to recognize the same thing with regard to
> their mathematical knowledge?
>
>We also see the same thing in sci.physics-- Amateurs (and cranks)
>who post their own (mostly mistaken) 'ideas'. These people
>do not seem to similarly pollute medical newsgroups.
>
>Clearly these people are looking for fame for solving some famous
>problem. But they do not seem to look for fame by (say) semi-serious
>efforts to cure disease.... They know they lack skills for the latter.

************************

David C. Ullrich

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Long threads, tactics
    ... > its way around the world, as I move Google search results. ... > of an electronic math journal. ... If you disagree, please say why. ... whereas you are an Amateur. ...
    (sci.math)
  • Re: Sociological/Psychological Phenomenon
    ... > that they have no competence. ... > What is it about math in particular, ... Mathematics is a purely abstract endeavor that can be done ... are _you_ competent enough to tell the bumbling amateur from the ...
    (sci.crypt)
  • Re: JSH: Problem space, counting down on DMESE
    ... be that math, encryption, or anything else. ... That's especially true for the major problems in a subject - you can ... An amateur is exceedingly unlikely to find a short proof of FLT, ...
    (sci.math)
  • Object-oriented solution to Tower of Hanoi
    ... pretty amateur, but I've been a programmer for about 6 years and up ... until now have gotten away with knowing little about math (real math -- ... They're longer than an equivalent solution in math would be, ...
    (comp.lang.ruby)
  • Sociological/Psychological Phenomenon
    ... What is it about math in particular, ... We also see the same thing in sci.physics-- Amateurs ... Clearly these people are looking for fame for solving some famous ... They know they lack skills for the latter. ...
    (sci.crypt)