A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study and research is mathematics. In other words, a mathematician is a person who contributes to the field of mathematics. People who apply mathematics to other fields, but do not contribute directly to mathematics, are generally not considered mathematicians.

Overview

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Unlike the other sciences, fundamental research in much of mathematics does not consist of performing experiments. Rather, mathematics is about problem-solving, where truths are deduced from other known truths. Computer experiments and other numerical evidence can result in new problems and are sometimes used to solve them, though most of the time they are just used as indicators that the work is on the right track - numerical evidence is not proof to a mathematician. In the end mathematics research is about constructing proofs of theorems, and most journals would reject a paper consisting solely of numerical data. Some outstanding open problems in mathematics, such as the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture, developed after analyzing numerical work on a computer.

Not only is calculation not a big part of some areas of mathematics research, but people who have had an important influence on mathematics do not necessarily have any extraordinary ability in adding or multiplying numbers. For instance, Albert Einstein, whose ideas had a significant impact in geometry, had great difficulties with mathematics when he was a youth. See mental calculators to read about prodigies performing impressive mental calculations.

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@rycheous i think artists are as far to the left as the mathematicians are to the right. Very unpure. :(
redgmma (Adam Green) Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:32:10 -0000
@rycheous i think artists are as far to the left as the mathematicians are to the right. Very unpure. :(
@fraserspeirs Oh for the days when spreadsheets were really sheets of paper, and computers were real people-mathematicians.
luciuskwok (Lucius Kwok) Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:19:05 -0000
@fraserspeirs Oh for the days when spreadsheets were really sheets of paper, and computers were real people-mathematicians.
RT @matamouros: @joaop infinite mathematicians walk into bar. 1st one asks for a beer, 2nd 1/2 a beer and so on. Bartender: "here's two ...
davidjulio (David Júlio) Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:52:03 -0000
RT @matamouros: @joaop infinite mathematicians walk into bar. 1st one asks for a beer, 2nd 1/2 a beer and so on. Bartender: "here's two ...
Mathematicians make the best Pumpkin Pi
FindJohnAWife (Miss Matchmaker) Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:51:43 -0000
Mathematicians make the best Pumpkin Pi
my tutor just sed "mathematicians can be taught but statisticians are born dnt waste ur talent" SINCE WHEN WAS STATISTICS A TALENT, calm dwn
amggg (Anna-Maria G) Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:23:40 -0000
my tutor just sed "mathematicians can be taught but statisticians are born dnt waste ur talent" SINCE WHEN WAS STATISTICS A TALENT, calm dwn
Mathematician David Berlinski explains why famous mathematicians have doubted Darwin http://bit.ly/6lJmt0) Darwingate
1xDead_2xsBorn (J. Robert Howell) Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:35:19 -0000
Mathematician David Berlinski explains why famous mathematicians have doubted Darwin http://bit.ly/6lJmt0) Darwingate

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