This is one of the best posts I've seen on this topic in a while.

I finished a math PhD before I decided to get out of academia and into startups. Since then, the older I get the more of a Platonist I become, especially now that I've taught my daughters a bunch of math (I'm their homeschool math+science teacher). And the more of a Platonist I become, the less I care about who made a particular discovery. Who cares?! It seems obvious (and quite beautiful) to me now that the same discoveries must be getting repeated again and again across the universe by alien mathematicians, and eventually by their AIs.

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hmokiguess an hour ago | parent | next [-]

I wish more people read Plato's work, or did shrooms. Both probably works.

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viklove an hour ago | parent [-]

Problem is learning math as a hobby doesn't put food on the table.

	▲	hmokiguess an hour ago \| parent [-]
		What did you mean to say by saying that in response to my comment? I am not sure I followed you

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rubikscube09 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

yeah but it's fun to discover things with your own brain

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noslenwerdna an hour ago | parent | next [-]

You can still discover it for yourself even if AI discovered it first (or some other human, or an alien on another planet). It is fun to figure out how something works, in and of itself

	▲	abstractbill an hour ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Absolutely. One of the best pieces of advice my PhD advisor gave me was that to really understand a particular result I would usually have to redo the proof of it myself (even after reading someone else's proof).
	▲	rubikscube09 an hour ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		that's not nearly as exciting as uncovering something new first yourself, but I agree to some extent. Also that's not something you'll get paid for, it's basically coursework at that point.

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hmokiguess an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

sure, and what you said is also not mutually exclusive to what OP said

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j2kun 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

So why should your children bother to learn math? Just have them prompt their AIs.