Re: Sociological/Psychological Phenomenon

From: vector (root_at_localhost)
Date: 06/01/05 

Date: Tue, 31 May 2005 19:27:17 -0400

"Pubkeybreaker" <Robert_silverman@raytheon.com> wrote in message
news:1117552533.881480.212250@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...

> 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?

Perhaps this is arrogant presumption, but I will assume that my recent post
is what set you off on this. Even if that's not the case, I'm certainly an
example of the type of person you're describing, right?

My Java code reproduces results consistently. Unlike learning brain
surgery, I didn't kill anyone by practicing. I played with numbers in a
Java compiler, and got reproducable results from a method I found
interesting. I had fun doing it. I thought other people might have fun
looking at the code. Why does that bother you?

I admitted readily to my status as an amateur. Here's a direct quote: "I am
neither a cryptographer nor a mathematician". How have I hurt or misled
anyone with that?

I'm curious about something, too. After your gruff reply to my initial
post, I took the liberty of googling for some of your posts, to understand
your tone of voice (print?) a little better. Maybe I'm wrong about you -- I
am a rank amateur, after all -- but you appear to me to be someone who is
knowledgable on these subjects, someone who is in a position to be helpful.
But instead you show great agitation and even hostility towards other
posters for some perceived transgressions, social, mathematical, or
otherwise. Why?

Relevant Pages

  • Re: God=G_uv proves 40k B.C. Creation
    ... Get your attributions right, you internet amateur. ... Hammond, that's a flawed analogy. ... "I am not worthy, I am not worthy! ... J.J. is a mathematician who has studied ...
    (sci.physics.relativity)
  • Re: Amatuer mathematicians.
    ... Erdos was definitely not an amateur. ... training to be a mathematician. ... are those of the Statistics Department or of Purdue University. ... Herman Rubin, Department of Statistics, Purdue University ...
    (sci.math)
  • Something for sci.maths amateur mathematicians?
    ... Occasionally a poster asks if there is anything an amateur ... mathematician could work on that has not already been ... and so on for the higher order versions. ...
    (sci.math)
  • Re: Do you read the anthology ?
    ... > a mathematician who is not also something of a poet ... > will never be a perfect mathematician. ... The newsgroup is spellbound by the trolling of the Amateur. ...
    (sci.math)
  • Re: Amateur research?
    ... I am afraid that real scientific contributions by amateur astronomical ... left for us is to have fun doing our research. ... projects I've created a message forum devoted to such topics. ... astronomers out there interested in discussing such topics to keep the ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)