A contribution to mathematical evangelism

Abstract

1. Presumably all readers of this journal, and certainly all contributors to it do mathematics because they enjoy it. Have you ever stopped to think what a wonderful but strange gift it is, this ability to enjoy mathematics? Outsiders are not, I claim, capable of sharing or appreciating this enjoyment, but the reasons are not easy to find, as we see when we try out a few possibilities. The language is technical—yes, but so is that of art, music, atomic physics and computing, and these subjects suffer from no shortage of enthusiastic followers whose technical knowledge is virtually nil. The subject is hard, and to become a participant requires dedication, even sacrifice; true, but true also of the other examples. Mathematicians are all slightly over the edge of the sanity/insanity divide, a common view but isn’t the same said of mountaineers and marathon runners while we watch their exploits with baited breath?