A Mathematician's Apology

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  • čas přidán 7. 09. 2024
  • Some thoughts on the value and beauty of mathematics.
    A Mathematician's Apology by G H Hardy (Free PDF) archive.org/de...
    Physical copy: amzn.to/39eC1bs
    Irrationality of root 2 proof: archive.org/de...
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    Music: Reconcile - Peter Sandberg

Komentáře • 1K

  • @Hailfire08
    @Hailfire08 Před 4 lety +1871

    "I have never done anything useful. No discovery of mine has made, or is likely to make, directly or indirectly, the least difference to the amenity of the world"
    Very relatable.

    • @Aengrod
      @Aengrod Před 4 lety +54

      At least he understands that the mathematics that he engaged in, was useless. He should have gone to engineering instead.

    • @mgame8082
      @mgame8082 Před 4 lety +44

      @@Aengrod Hahahahahaha

    • @BGBTech
      @BGBTech Před 4 lety +43

      Ironically, this makes me feel a little better about my "useless" personal projects, which while not necessarily making any money, might at least potentially be useful, eventually. I am also in the minority of people who have their own custom processor architecture and similar. With an FPGA implementation, associated C compiler, a sort of terrible OS of sorts, ... While it is unlikely to ever really "compete" against x86 or ARM for "market share" or similar, this is not why it exists... ( Some of us might want to do things that seem interesting, even if one could do the same basic thing with an off-the-shelf microcontroller, or not bother making anything at all. )

    • @vk2ig
      @vk2ig Před 4 lety +36

      @@BGBTech I have done likewise with radio equipment - designed and built my own. I get comments like "Why bother? You can't build something as good as what you can buy nowadays." I agree - but I learn an awful lot in through the design-and-build process. And then there is the satisfaction of using the equipment to make contact with someone on the other side of the planet - no internet required!

    • @BGBTech
      @BGBTech Před 4 lety +14

      @@vk2ig This project is mostly writing code, kind of a lot of code (in total, currently around 2 million lines of code, mostly C, with some amount of Verilog).
      The CPU runs on an FPGA (essentially, programmable logic gates). In theory, could have an ASIC version made (conventional microchips), but this part (getting a chip fab to make them) requires a mountain of money...
      Have built some physical stuff as well (such as a few CNC machines).
      Once tried to make my own electric motor (via machining it), but this was unsuccessful (despite having plenty of turns of copper, its magnetic fields were very weak, so it didn't have enough torque to be able to turn on its own; possibly due to the rotor and stator being milled out of solid chunks of carbon steel rather than silicon steel, or the fairly large rotor/stator gap, or ...).
      Have a few times wondered about (but not tested) how the magnetic permeability of iron oxide+epoxy compares with steel...

  • @TheQuantumCore
    @TheQuantumCore Před 4 lety +407

    There's something about reading books with faded yellow paper. It gives the feeling that you are reading an ancient scripture or scroll and trying to decipher it meaning. The feeling is priceless.

    • @Saturnia2014
      @Saturnia2014 Před 4 lety +21

      The smell of the old paper is great, too.

    • @stephenpowstinger733
      @stephenpowstinger733 Před 4 lety +1

      Yes. I have a small book on philosophy sort of like that.

    • @4thesakeofitname
      @4thesakeofitname Před 4 lety +1

      True

    • @nihilisticalbino
      @nihilisticalbino Před 4 lety +5

      I use the sepia setting when reading Kindles, so yeah, I know exactly what you mean.

    • @theasianguy9812
      @theasianguy9812 Před 4 lety

      Reading modern textbooks gives me the feeling of trying to decipher its meaning too.

  • @Orosdeo
    @Orosdeo Před 4 lety +401

    I recall reading Hardy's apology when I was finishing a bachelors in Mathematics. I specially enjoyed the line "Beauty is the first test: there is no permanent place in the world for ugly mathematics." and have always thought it true.

    • @randomCoolGuy
      @randomCoolGuy Před 4 lety +8

      I wish my math was handsome. Instead of horrible approximations, rounding to some decimal place and handwaved limits to infinity. Cs student btw.

    • @jdmccue9722
      @jdmccue9722 Před 4 lety +3

      Tell that to modern architecture

    • @nicktarantino7188
      @nicktarantino7188 Před 4 lety +1

      I remember reading this line in the book.

    • @zeldamage001
      @zeldamage001 Před 4 lety +7

      I think it's something all mathematicians wish to be true. However, wishing something to be true and it actually being true is not the same. I wouldn't be surprised if there are recorded arguments for this 'wish', or hypothesis, though.

    • @Ockerlord
      @Ockerlord Před 4 lety +9

      I fucking hate this argument.
      No, a mathematical conjecture should not be judged by its perceived beauty nor should any model of the world in physics.

  • @epajarjestys9981
    @epajarjestys9981 Před 4 lety +290

    "First rule of mathematics: You don't talk about mathematics."
    _G.H. Hardy_

    • @jiwoongjang2764
      @jiwoongjang2764 Před 3 lety +3

      Yeah. Moreover, we need to think and create something new and that is what math is.

  • @Skibbityboo0580
    @Skibbityboo0580 Před 4 lety +300

    Your channel calms me down during panic attacks. I just wanted to let you know!

    • @ninepuchar1
      @ninepuchar1 Před 4 lety +13

      Her soothing and tranquil voice,makes us feel calm and at ease. I feel she could even calm down the rage of a man simply with her mannerism and voice.

    • @borisbadenov651
      @borisbadenov651 Před 4 lety +11

      @@ninepuchar1 And neither can her natural beauty be ignored !

    • @Bunny_Aoife
      @Bunny_Aoife Před 4 lety +3

      while i find her voice as well as her subject matter very soothing, the pen in the book gives me a bit of anxiety.

    • @ronanstephens1597
      @ronanstephens1597 Před 4 lety +7

      Mathematical ASMR when?!

    • @robdee81
      @robdee81 Před 4 lety +1

      when youre having a panic attack and believing youre about to die you boot up your computer and load up a maths video?

  • @kevinbaird7277
    @kevinbaird7277 Před 4 lety +119

    I think Hardy is too hard on himself, sad that a great intellectual has feelings of no self worth, I admire his great honesty, a few less notable individuals could learn a thing or two from this great man.

    • @Mephanderos
      @Mephanderos Před 4 lety +5

      But it's true. His own work really had no value. The only thing that actually mattered in his life, is his collaborations with Ramanjuan and so.

    • @yuiosway
      @yuiosway Před 4 lety +22

      "I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing."
      -Socrates

    • @NTNscrub
      @NTNscrub Před 4 lety +11

      Dettlaff Van Der Eretein It had value in the inspiration it brought to aspiring mathematicians. Just look at the comment by a math professor left on this video about how his apology had a profound effect on his thought.

    • @Mephanderos
      @Mephanderos Před 4 lety +3

      @@NTNscrub Maybe so, but with all due respect, the inspiration it brought isn't actually gonna have an effect on the world, as a whole. Specific individuals do not count.

    • @NTNscrub
      @NTNscrub Před 4 lety +12

      Dettlaff Van Der Eretein Who’s to say how widespread that inspiration is? I absolutely agree that in tangible contributions for the progression of mathematics, Hardy was lacking. However, to say his work is of no value at all is an overreach. Surely, some value can be found when approached from a perspective of education, inspiration, or entertainment.

  • @gregsimpson9391
    @gregsimpson9391 Před 4 lety +124

    I remember a time many years ago when I simply could not grasp mathematics - by that I mean algebra etc etc. My brain simply could not adapt to thinking in these "abstract"ways. I was bottom of the class and simply felt I was outside the group. It was very frustrating. Then I had a change in teacher and some help from a friend. For some reason I started to "get it". I then simply progressed and eventually studied engineering and became successful in that field and others. So what has mathematics done for me? It has not made me into a mathematician but it has shaped my thinking. I became very good at problem definition (not justr in engineering but in life) - many others became better at problem solving but my persistence in following subjects in which I was interested was underpinned by my eventual understanding of mathematics all the way to partial differential calculus and equations - and their applications in our world and the universe. I am so grateful to have achieved a level of mathematics that enabled my thinking to expand. That is the message I want to send to you and your readers and their children. I know this and I have been there!!

    • @lai8544
      @lai8544 Před 4 lety +9

      Wow thats so cool! Im glad for you! I´ve always been bad at math and thats really inspiring to read

    • @EdWhiteSpyHI
      @EdWhiteSpyHI Před 4 lety +9

      This has been my journey as well! I actually went to university later in life and by the time I got there, I had forgotten what the syntax for absolute numbers was! But CS is a math degree (at my school at least) and I’m persistent, and I noticed that advanced math was like a programmer’s super-power, so driven by interest and application I started learning more and more math on my own, just to use it in my programming. It was what made math fun and understandable for me.

    • @Shaolin-Jesus
      @Shaolin-Jesus Před rokem

      we should question if it is wise to think in terms of 'becoming a mathematician'
      when we look at the evidence, the evidence suggests that
      to some extent, is it short-sighted to see one's self as a mathematician
      rather, the evidence suggests that
      we are the embodiment of mathematics
      we are all mathematics
      in motion .

  • @PapaFlammy69
    @PapaFlammy69 Před 4 lety +539

    Sry.

  • @michaeljames4904
    @michaeljames4904 Před 4 lety +189

    _apology_ ≠ “sorry”
    As in apologia, or apologetics: defending your own tenets from critique.

    • @bettercallmepol3493
      @bettercallmepol3493 Před 4 lety +1

      Απολογία είναι η υπεράσπιση του αληθούς....its definitely not deflecting as such

    • @alexpotts6520
      @alexpotts6520 Před 4 lety +4

      Moreover, it has quite a negative connotation, one of defending the indefensible. One would describe a person supporting creationism, or eugenics, or North Korea, as an apologist.

    • @michaeljames4904
      @michaeljames4904 Před 4 lety +11

      Alex Potts Many words not only have separate meanings, they sometimes have little used ones in the contemporary sense, or completely differing original definitions.
      If I describe Tibees as having _catholic_ interests, most would think I meant religious ones, rather than “varied and separate.”
      Should a contemporary have described St Paul’s Cathedral as _awful,_ to Sir Christopher Wren, he wouldn’t have felt insulted but complemented that the person was “filled with awe” by the construction.
      If a Victorian had told a friend that they’d had an _accident_ the other day, her friend would be interested rather than concerned, as before the much later ubiquity of the motor car it meant a curious incident of chance, rather than anything injurious or mistaken.
      Similarly, _Hello!_ was originally a cordial exclamation of surprise, then refashioned in the search for an appropriately novel greeting, when using the newfangled telephone; almost as a throat-clearer to check the line was working okay. Now it’s used in any context rather than just telephonic. (It narrowly beat out the competitor candidate, _”Ahoy-hoy!”_ which in a cheeky hat-tip to the blaggard’s extreme age, Mr Burns still uses on answering the ‘phone, in _The Simpsons.)_

    • @michaeljames4904
      @michaeljames4904 Před 4 lety +6

      rice eater G.H. Hardy was a Cambridge man, born in 1847, and until the later explosion of the natural sciences it was a centre of learning dominated by three disciplines: divinity, law and mathematics.
      Theology as a field still has, just like you say, a rich and continuing use of the derivatives of _apologia_ in its once more dominant sense. You’ll, though rarely, still hear its contemporary collocation with the verb that suits that use, “I wish to *make* an apology,” rather than ‘give.’
      If you think of the aforementioned fields of study, and keep in mind the request, “permit me to humbly explain my position,” you can likely appreciate not merely how the word ‘apology’ would have been understood by Hardy’s academic contemporaries, but also how its meaning in common parlance today branched off from the original.

    • @GODandGODDESS
      @GODandGODDESS Před 4 lety +2

      The Greek word apologia (Strong’s G 627) is a verbal defense.

  • @holden.a
    @holden.a Před 4 lety +26

    As I become older and older the more I love mathematics. It has timeless beauty.

  • @jorgealbertoguizaralfaro9047

    Tibees, I got accepted in a PhD at University of Canterbury, NZ, I have read that it is your Alma Mater...

    • @priscilaguimaraes2732
      @priscilaguimaraes2732 Před 4 lety +10

      What’s an alma Mater? Thanks

    • @thearchibaldtuttle
      @thearchibaldtuttle Před 4 lety +25

      Priscila Guimarães where you’re money goes

    • @vk2ig
      @vk2ig Před 4 lety +3

      @Pete is never wrong Higher education (up to and including undergraduate level) used to be fee-free in Australia from when the Labor government abolished fees in the early/mid 70s until another Labor government introduced the Higher Education Contribution charges in the mid/late 80s. (The Coalition (conservative) government in between didn't touch fees.) Sure, there were people who rorted the system by swapping courses every few years and remaining permanent students, but our country mostly benefitted from the fee-free arrangement.

    • @vk2ig
      @vk2ig Před 4 lety +2

      @Pete is never wrong The HECS fees are a debt burden which can follow someone around for quite a while ... it's not quite as bad as a mortgage, but it's getting there. And given how little a science graduate gets paid here, I really wonder how some people are able ever to service that debt, especially when later "normal life" elements like family and home ownership are factored in.
      Many of the "permanent students" I saw didn't actually finish any one course - they just swapped to stay in the education system. Quite a few were almost permanent fixtures on student union councils ... politicians-in-the-making, maybe? These were not the same as the people who would do an undergraduate course with Honours, then a Masters, then a Ph.D, and then stay in academia lecturing and conducting research.

    • @ajitsen6927
      @ajitsen6927 Před 4 lety +5

      Not a NZ'er or Tibees but who cares lol - Congratulations Dude .

  • @EG-cs3wv
    @EG-cs3wv Před 4 lety +41

    There is always value in any expression of humanity. Mathematics are a great representation of what we are, its a part of our core. So maths are always useful.
    I think we confuse utility with tangible things or results. Utility is everywere, but some paradigsm does't allow us to see it. And sometimes something is useful not for what it causes but for its causes
    Great video, voice and inspiration... As always.

  • @idjles
    @idjles Před 4 lety +714

    Hardy, you gave us Ramanujan, so all is forgiven. (But you could have kept him warmer in winter!!)

    • @Jerry113
      @Jerry113 Před 4 lety +3

      We forgive you king

    • @sahilbaori9052
      @sahilbaori9052 Před 4 lety +1

      Who?

    • @TheSummerLab1
      @TheSummerLab1 Před 4 lety +62

      Hardy didn't train Ramanujan 😑
      He just gave him value regardless of race.

    • @aniketsaha1601
      @aniketsaha1601 Před 4 lety +43

      u r pretenging as if he created ramanujan...he just gave him an opportunity that's it and ramanujan was way better and leagues above other mathematicians so he came and rocked the world✌️

    • @vae3716
      @vae3716 Před 4 lety +44

      @@aniketsaha1601 why do people keep comparing mathematicians? Like I know ramanujan undoubtedly was a great mathematician but assuming that certain mathematician is greater than other is ridiculous or doesn't make sense. Take hardy for example he acknowledged that his work would be "useless" because of no real life applications of it but does it make him or his mathematical legacy any less greater than any other mathematicians? Not at all

  • @eroche12
    @eroche12 Před 4 lety +13

    Even in his old days being in his 80's my late dad used his Sundays to solve old math problems and had to create some new formulae for aerodynamics and add quantum physics (was amazed of what he called the "fat" electron :-). I wish he was still alive and watch your videos. He would have enjoyed them. Keep up the great work Tibees!!

  • @TheQuantumCore
    @TheQuantumCore Před 4 lety +120

    Pure Science is an art in itself. It is to express oneself. Not everything requires immediate application. Sometimes it takes centuries for it to be applied. Othertimes it just lays foundations for future inventions. Its value is not immediately or directly perceivable or measurable. Nevertheless Hardly was a genius. Often it takes a genius to identify another. If not for Hardy there would be no Ramanujan. He personifies "Ars gratia artis". A true artist.

  • @tufanbanerjee4571
    @tufanbanerjee4571 Před 4 lety +96

    It's now 3.20 am here And I got the notification Tibees ❤️❤️

  • @chemomatik8276
    @chemomatik8276 Před 4 lety +88

    Yay, a new video from Tibees! Hi Tibees. You just inspired me to a silly joke: Q:"What does the doctor tell the mathematician?" A: "Your days are numbered"

    • @peterbrough2461
      @peterbrough2461 Před 4 lety +5

      I'm reminded of that every time I see a calendar😳

    • @greywolfwalking6359
      @greywolfwalking6359 Před 4 lety +2

      Muckan ???? Ooooohhhh!!
      Got it!!!✌the third estate!

    • @vk2ig
      @vk2ig Před 4 lety +11

      @Muckan Or ...
      There are 10 types of people in this world - those who understand binary numbers, and those who don't.

    • @vk2ig
      @vk2ig Před 4 lety +4

      @@peterbrough2461 That's why calendars get the chop at the end of their useful lives.

    • @ifrazali3052
      @ifrazali3052 Před 4 lety +1

      @@greywolfwalking6359 I didn't get it

  • @xshortguy
    @xshortguy Před 4 lety +33

    "Hardy was well past his prime" - right after talking about infinite number of primes. :P

  •  Před 4 lety +20

    I read this as a teen and it taught me to find beauty in everything. Also maths

  • @kasterborouskitten
    @kasterborouskitten Před 4 lety +8

    I'm so happy I just found your channel! Your videos are so calming and insightful and lovely, it's so inspiring to see someone who looks like me (a blonde gal!) talking about maths and actually being taken seriously and supported by people for it! Thank you 💖💖

  • @zubin8010
    @zubin8010 Před 4 lety +46

    I highly recommend the book "An Introduction to the Theory of Numbers" by Hardy (the same Hardy from this video) and Wright.

    • @thearchive26788
      @thearchive26788 Před 4 lety +2

      I'm definitely interested in gobbling up more books he has written!

    • @nachisuper
      @nachisuper Před 4 lety +2

      What did you like about it?

    • @thearchive26788
      @thearchive26788 Před 4 lety +1

      @@nachisuper I haven't read all of it yet. I stated that in a previous comment. As mentioned I was just a kid and in my early teens. I remember how I felt reading it. I don't remember the details, even vaguely. I just purchased it now on kindle. I will definitely share my opinion, that is if this comment was intended for me. If not, then I apologize. But, I will share it anyway when I'm done. Thank you so much for making me type something out. I am always and ever in dire need to express my thoughts in a written form. Thanks to all of you including and especially, the uploader of this video.

  • @Red-Brick-Dream
    @Red-Brick-Dream Před 4 lety

    Since leaving university, I've struggled to find purpose. I never pursued a graduate degree, as I was in poor mental health and did not feel I could bear the commitment.
    But play - play never lost its joy. To play with numbers, play with equations, and shapes, and sets, and to try and share that joy and wonder with others as an educator... Here, I have found something close to catharsis; as close, I suspect, as I will ever get. And these readings from Hardy's book have helped brighten my day a bit, as I prepare to apply for teacher's college ASAP.
    Thank you for this! ❤ from Canada.

  • @hebrewwolf6540
    @hebrewwolf6540 Před 4 lety +9

    Your videos have such beautiful aesthetics. I love the fact that you just randomly insert your cat scenes. 😍

  • @fernandolovato3979
    @fernandolovato3979 Před 4 lety +11

    In my opinion this is one of the best videos you've ever made, congrats!

  • @runneypo
    @runneypo Před 4 lety +3

    i dont have the mind to do mathematics but i can appreciate the writings and thoughts of those brighter than me. good video

    • @SIGSEGV1337
      @SIGSEGV1337 Před 4 lety

      maybe you do, maybe you just don't like the way others do mathematics

    • @runneypo
      @runneypo Před 4 lety

      @@SIGSEGV1337 could you elaborate please? what are the alternative ways to do mathematics?

    • @SIGSEGV1337
      @SIGSEGV1337 Před 4 lety +1

      @@runneypo I don't know, maybe you just need to carve your own path like Ramanujan did

    • @runneypo
      @runneypo Před 4 lety

      @@SIGSEGV1337 ah but ramanujan had an exeptional mind for mathematics, i have only average intellect

    • @SIGSEGV1337
      @SIGSEGV1337 Před 4 lety +1

      @@runneypo Maybe you just haven't tried.

  • @e.l.2734
    @e.l.2734 Před 8 měsíci

    Toby, you've always seemed like a solid role model with your smarts, hard work, sweetness, joy, and just general virtues and passion. Please never leave the internet, because so many generations can benefit from watching you and being inspired by you.

  • @user-oy2vx9xw8t
    @user-oy2vx9xw8t Před 3 lety +6

    I could literally listen to you whole day nonstop.

  • @humilulo
    @humilulo Před 3 lety +1

    Tibees, you have the truest math i've ever seen in my life. you are such an inspiration. What you shared in your Mathemation's Lament is so true about true math. thank you for 'sharing this truth from a housetop' or 'sharing this truth in the concourses'. You have done this well from your CZcams channel, in such elegance & beauty! thanks so much for sharing a piece of your brilliant, beautiful mind that just lights up from the beauty of true math! You are the greatest mathematician i've ever found or heard of. Thanks for inspiring me to continue learning true math! it is so beautiful! you have relit my love for math!

  • @leezhao
    @leezhao Před 4 lety +70

    7:50 Charles Percy Snow was a physicist by training and best known for being a novelist. But anyway, Hardy's Apology greatly influenced my thinking when I first read it as a graduate student (wish I had read it much earlier). Though it probably didn't present new ideas to me, the best writings sometimes are precisely those that articulate the reader's own thoughts so well that they are brought to a full and sharper relief. I am a math professor now and I've tried to have my students read it. I can only hope that they can benefit as much as I did.

    • @neonskie7008
      @neonskie7008 Před 4 lety

      If u don't mind me asking
      Did u anytime lose motivation to study?
      This is random but I just wanted to know.

    • @leezhao
      @leezhao Před 4 lety +1

      @@neonskie7008 Well, there of course have been moments of doubt, prompted by external factors like job prospects, etc. But I suppose that's not the same as losing motivation. The subject of mathematics itself never lost its appeal, I don't think.

    • @neonskie7008
      @neonskie7008 Před 4 lety

      @@leezhao ahh
      Well did u ever fail in maths?

    • @leezhao
      @leezhao Před 4 lety +10

      @@neonskie7008 Ha, I fail all the time, failing to prove a theorem that I want, failing to come up with the correct statement to prove, failing come up with interesting problems to work on... This is not to say that I don't ever succeed. Scientific research works at the boarder of knowledge and the unknown. Failures come way more frequently than successes.

    • @neonskie7008
      @neonskie7008 Před 4 lety +2

      @@leezhao awh
      Well, thank you for telling me :)

  • @TheOne-um7rp
    @TheOne-um7rp Před 4 lety

    Her voice, so soothing, brings me peace.
    I have been watching videos lately on vibrational frequencies, and when I wrote a comment that it was not working for me, one guy suggested that I had not found the right frequency. I have found it now.

  • @troycooper7180
    @troycooper7180 Před 4 lety +3

    I am no "Mathlete," but an artist, and as an artist I find you intoxicating to view and to hear... even as I have no desire to ponder great mathematical questions or equations. I am fascinated by Ramanujan's life and his passion, and I find myself "enduring" your topics and being fascinated by you for your beauty - which is oddly as potent externally as it is internally. *Prettiest Kiwi ever... thank you for your wonderful distractions! You're as sweet as cherry Pi.

  • @ari-cowan
    @ari-cowan Před 4 lety

    With respect to the idea that talking about mathematics is something for second-rate minds, it's clear that you've demonstrated that this is not the case. I'm an ontological theorist (the nature of reality and being with a focus on compassion, conflict, and human development) and I've not truly appreciated mathematics nor fully considered the role it plays in the development of the human mind and the impact on humanity. Watching your videos (brief presentions by a young woman thousands of miles away from me, rendered in two dimensions on my computer screen) is something of an unexpected revelation. For this, I'm quite moved and deeply thankful. You're something of a gift. Do press on.

  • @jacquesrabie4599
    @jacquesrabie4599 Před 4 lety +106

    "There is no permanent place in the world for ugly mathematics."
    *Stares in Algebraic Geometry*

  • @ForAllEpsilon
    @ForAllEpsilon Před 4 lety

    Having read Hardy's Apology during my senior year of my undergrad studying Math, I couldn't help but be overwhelmed with sadness, but above all ambivalence. It was during my senior year of undergrad that I started feeling a diminishing passion for Math, which was my main obsession in all the previous years. The fact that Hardy was able to articulate so elegantly what I was feeling so deeply left an ever lasting impact on me.

  • @hrperformance
    @hrperformance Před 4 lety +16

    I rather be a happy but average physicist than great and unhappy. That's the lesson I'm taking from this 😁👍🏽

    • @s7d788
      @s7d788 Před 4 lety +4

      Same, as a fellow physicist. I am quite young but truth be told I don't think there's this spark of historical genius in me. However, as long as I am able to I will put great effort on studies which fulfill me and that I find interesting

    • @stargazer137
      @stargazer137 Před 11 měsíci

      @@s7d788 How are you doing now brother?

  • @slaasavic5044
    @slaasavic5044 Před 4 lety +1

    Tobby, I don't think I ever commented on any of your videos before, but now I have to say it- you are just awesome and everything you post is just fascinating. Thank you for quality content :) .

  • @JoeCMath
    @JoeCMath Před 4 lety +10

    Started sweating nervously when reading the title... great video!
    That whole not feeling "useful" seems to be pervasive among those who achieve quite a lot.

  • @anoopnayak9751
    @anoopnayak9751 Před 4 lety +2

    Thank you for sharing. I have not read it yet but based on your words, he surely was a person with big heart.

  • @turicaederynmab5343
    @turicaederynmab5343 Před 4 lety +36

    When we getting a room tour homie? Background looks like the set of Downton Abbey.
    And honestly this Hardy guy sounds like he was going through it, hope the dude found a way to appreciate himself before he passed.

  • @2bsirius
    @2bsirius Před 4 lety

    I am lucky enough to live close to G H Hardy's grave. I can and have bicycled from where I live in Cambridgeshire. I think as soon as Covid-19 is just a bad memory, I return to his grave and leave a copy of _A Mathematician's Apology_ in a weather proof box on Hardy's forgotten grave with the hope that it will be found by a fellow lover of the beauty of mathematics Among the many passages I love within the book are, _The mathematician’s patterns, like the painter’s or the poet’s must be beautiful; the ideas like the colours or the words, must fit together in a harmonious way. Beauty is the first test: there is no permanent place in the world for ugly mathematics_ and _Chess problems are the hymn-tunes of mathematics._ I hope your readers will be prompted by your video to read the book and find their own gems within its pages. Thanks for this video.

  • @Zeer0042
    @Zeer0042 Před 4 lety +7

    I watched this video called "Beautiful Trigonometry" or something from the channel Numberphile and in the video there's a line which is like "Mathematicians do maths because it's beautiful. Maths is beautiful. Then they realise 'ohhhh this can be applied somewhere'".

  • @lockqspur
    @lockqspur Před rokem +1

    Your videos are amazing! I watch them for study breaks and they’re so nice 🙃

  • @benheideveld4617
    @benheideveld4617 Před 4 lety +47

    Lovely! If you are a second rate mathematician, you are still way more intelligent than me, a lowly physicist. Yes, theoretical physicists are the masters of our Universe, but let me remind you that Mathematicians are the grandmasters of all universes, existing or not...

    • @borisbadenov651
      @borisbadenov651 Před 4 lety +1

      And God's existence has been proven through mathematics. See the video entitled: "Mathematical Challenges to Darwin’s Theory of Evolution."

    • @cygil1
      @cygil1 Před 4 lety +1

      Her website says she only has an undergraduate degree, albeit with first class honors. I wouldn't be too quick to draw that conclusion.

    • @jordanjacobson6046
      @jordanjacobson6046 Před 4 lety +14

      @@borisbadenov651 math cant "prove" anything about the world, in fact, the only things that can be definitively proven are mathematical truths. Worldly things can be empirically tested but still have, even if only infinitesimally, a chance of having been coincidence. God, spirituality, or other metaphysical concerns are not even empirically testable let alone mathematically provable.

    • @costakeith9048
      @costakeith9048 Před 4 lety +5

      @@jordanjacobson6046 No, you can't prove anything empirically with mathematics, but mathematics does allow us to directly interact with the world of forms, which is obviously more real than anything made of matter and observable by the senses. I wouldn't go so far as to say that one can 'prove' God's existence with mathematics, but certain mathematical proofs have added to the weight of evidence, such as Godel effectively proving that truth exists even outside of any conceivable axiomatic system, that is to say that the world of forms, that the real world, both exists and is infinitely vast.

    • @vincemarenger7122
      @vincemarenger7122 Před 4 lety +3

      Boris Badenov Darwin’s theory doesn’t even disprove god, in the first place. I know people that believe in evolution, big bang etc. And still believe that god created the universe.
      “God doesn’t play dice with the universe” - Albert Einstein, criticizing quantum mechanics
      “God not only plays dice, he also somtimes throws them where they cannot be seen”. - Hawking, later contradicting Einstein

  • @jordanrenaud-pq7rx
    @jordanrenaud-pq7rx Před 4 lety

    YOU are the treasure dear. So sad to feel what Hardy felt...my journey is nearly over and I feel I have made no difference, thus depression looms.

  • @nuclearwinter6231
    @nuclearwinter6231 Před 4 lety +4

    she's undoubtedly stunning, she carries herself with an air of calmness, intelligence and confidence. throughly enjoyed this video (even tho my mathematical knowledge is severely limited lol)

  • @cicad2007
    @cicad2007 Před 4 lety +1

    Dear heart, i'm sure Hardy would view you efforts as well worthy of praise. You are a teacher to many more students than he could ever conceive of! Myself included. 😊

  • @Kaynos
    @Kaynos Před 4 lety +6

    Value is in the eye of the beholders.

  • @emanna7868
    @emanna7868 Před 4 lety

    I studied Arts, I'm 35, I don't have friends or a job. To hear his words saying that somehow he sees worthy the work of a painter or a poet, but judges so harshly to himself. One that never saw through mathematics but loves to hear about it... I know, that he defines his kind of beauty to make a work valuable or not, but still...
    Love your videos ;) Gracias

  • @xenontesla122
    @xenontesla122 Před 4 lety +9

    6:04 Sure he was a year past his prime, but couldn't he just wait 'til he was 67? :)

  • @friedrichn7767
    @friedrichn7767 Před 4 lety +1

    Everytime I hear your voice I feel happy 😃 So thx for all of your GREAT videos. It's midnight, I am sleepy but I got the notification then I'm I'm watching the video. I'm exhausted and sleepy but I can't help it.
    Thx

  • @AeroCraftAviation
    @AeroCraftAviation Před 4 lety +30

    6:06 Well he was only three years past his last prime.

    • @tibees
      @tibees  Před 4 lety +17

      haha, 61 is prime so he had just passed it but his last prime was really at 67

    • @AeroCraftAviation
      @AeroCraftAviation Před 4 lety +5

      @@tibees Oh shoot this is the second time in a week that I've forgotten about 61 being prime. 🤣 But yeah I suppose it was.

    • @vk2ig
      @vk2ig Před 4 lety +2

      @@tibees I was wondering if that line "[Hardy] thought he was well past his prime" was a pun intended.

    • @jeffreyengel
      @jeffreyengel Před 4 lety +1

      @@AeroCraftAviation Well, I hadn't thought of it at all this week until now, so effectively I've forgotten it umpteen times.

    • @AeroCraftAviation
      @AeroCraftAviation Před 4 lety

      @@jeffreyengel Haha fair enough. I suppose by that logic there are infinitely many primes that we've all forgotten infinitely many times, assuming we forget once per instant. 😆

  • @larrysherk
    @larrysherk Před 4 lety +1

    I am a retired educator, mathematician, and physicist, and I do like your work !

  • @bangersareforever480
    @bangersareforever480 Před 4 lety +26

    Hardy promoting the idea that mathematics is a “young mans game” is one of the worst things to happen to mathematics

    • @vector8310
      @vector8310 Před 4 lety +9

      I took to mathematics in my late 30's. I am an amateur mathematician at 60 now, and I hold it as my most prized endeavor.

    • @Felipe_Ribeir0
      @Felipe_Ribeir0 Před 4 lety +2

      But this is the truth, according with our historical data. Most of the brilliant jobs were done when the mathematician had 15-30 years of life.

    • @bangersareforever480
      @bangersareforever480 Před 4 lety +7

      @@Felipe_Ribeir0 this is just not true, there are multiple papers and essays disproving this myth, google “A Young Man’s Game”: Youth, gender, play, and power in the personae of mid- twentieth century global mathematics by Michael J. Barany

  • @atc35012
    @atc35012 Před 4 lety

    I like to believe that effort is worth something given the right amount of time. I love to journal. I recently found out that a series of journals in time are valuable to collectors, important as historically personal accounts of how people lived during a specific period that those in the future will never see or experience, and can be sold for more money than single accounts of a person's life lasting only a few months or a year. I always feared that someday my journals would be burned or destroyed at the end of my life and by then I should have enough to fill a bookcase. I started journaling at just 8 years old. I've been journaling for 27 years and have only kept the journals from 2009 to the present and I named them Bernardo. Effort is valued with time. One of the cool things about Bernardo is that it is hand-written so it will be readable in ten or twenty years unlike a computer program and it won't crash and vanish forever.

  • @harjeck9518
    @harjeck9518 Před 4 lety +11

    There is a brilliant TED talk to this topic by Grant Sanderson from channel 3Blue1Brown, definitely worth watching.. :) As well as Toby's videos, of course! :D

  • @Noahakavalkrie
    @Noahakavalkrie Před 4 lety

    I could listen to you read or talk about pretty much anything. I’m always so relaxed afterwards, and end up learning something interesting.

  • @timeless_realm
    @timeless_realm Před 4 lety +5

    How do you find someone you trust to start a foundation for math? If one starts to learn from someone who pretends to know and really doesn’t it is very discouraging.

    • @Felipe_Ribeir0
      @Felipe_Ribeir0 Před 4 lety +2

      It depends on your level. You are talking about college level? You can research for the better math course that you can do (by price, location) and go there. I guarantee that the people there will be enough.

  • @stkyriakoulisdr
    @stkyriakoulisdr Před 4 lety +1

    I have heard somewhere an interesting point on Hardy's and others' view of the usefulness of their work (or rather, the lack thereof):
    They lived at a very difficult time of history. They had been shaped by WW1, the Spanish flu (which I suppose we will start noticing now), the great depression and (by the time the book was written) the beginning of WW2. They had observed great suffering and pain. They also saw fellow scientists making advancements that (perhaps unintentionally) led to this suffering: Chemists developed poisonous gases, engineers designed deadlier weapons and just a stone throw away, in the same university, physicists split the atom to pave the way for the strongest bomb ever to be made. Amidst all this violence and place for usefulness, they were able to take pride in their work for being simply beautiful and only that. Because creating beauty is for a time of peace and prosperity. And when your creation has no practical use, no one can make a weapon out of it. And to me, that's inspiring and that's beautiful. I would imagine the world would be a profoundly better place if we had more people with Hardy's mindset.
    P.S. It is ironic that number theory, hardy's field has since found a very useful and, in some sense, warlike application in cryptography.
    P.P.S: I heard a thought along those lines from a CZcamsr but I cannot remember who it was. If anyone has any link, it would be helpful.

  • @janani_jade
    @janani_jade Před 4 lety +10

    "There is no permanent place in the world for ugly mathematics." - I always enjoy mathematics classes because of this. There has never been a math class where I hated/got bored of the topic that was being taught. Great video! My September reading list now has a new addition.

    • @luiszamudio1572
      @luiszamudio1572 Před 4 lety +2

      You must have always had very good teachers, I envy you

    • @janani_jade
      @janani_jade Před 4 lety +1

      @@luiszamudio1572 I've had my fair share of bad teachers too. That's why the back benches exist.😂

    • @Hi_Brien
      @Hi_Brien Před 4 lety +1

      @@luiszamudio1572 not nessisarily, I never had a good math teacher, but I isolated myself from their lessons and taught me everything I know using the resources at my disposal. I have then found that there is no boring topic except for the one you don't delve into.

    • @luiszamudio1572
      @luiszamudio1572 Před 4 lety

      @@Hi_Brien Makes sense, you said the topic of the class, no the class itself. But I have personally disliked some math classes so much that I take it upon the subject. I know, its not fair

    • @luiszamudio1572
      @luiszamudio1572 Před 4 lety

      @@janani_jade Then how do you enjoy the class?

  • @jcbguy4099
    @jcbguy4099 Před 4 lety +1

    Your voice and your English makes me feel meditative.

  • @vk2ig
    @vk2ig Před 4 lety +5

    Great video Toby, I had never heard of this work.
    7:39 "I'd hate to know what he thinks of me talking about him talking about mathematics" - Hardy would probably think in terms of powers, so someone talking about him talking about mathematics would be a 4th rate mind, and us talking about you talking about him talking about mathematics makes us all 16th rate minds?
    It's funny how many mathematicians investigated subjects which, in their day, had very little application, but nowadays their work underpins the very technology that makes our society possible. Fourier is another who comes to mind.

    • @MrAlRats
      @MrAlRats Před 4 lety +2

      @James Herndon Hardy didn't derive his feeling of self-worth by declaring his superiority to others. He was simply stating that mathematicians who talk about mathematics as opposed to doing mathematics is the reserve of second-rate mathematicians. This is a reasonable point of view since very good mathematicians don't have the luxury of time to engage in such things. His depression was a consequence of his view that he cannot be as productive as he once used to be and as a result he now has enough time to contemplate about and write about mathematics. Hardy was among the most accomplished mathematicians of his time and it would be delusional for him to not realise that he was a superior mathematician to a lot of his peers.

    • @vk2ig
      @vk2ig Před 4 lety +1

      @@MrAlRats Agreed. I didn't see or hear anything stating that Hardy's sense of self-worth derived from considering himself superior to others. Instead, per what you indicated, his self-worth in later life was gauged against his own ability in his early life.

  • @1325cmith
    @1325cmith Před 4 lety

    I dont know how i got here but im not complaining. I watched a couple of your videos just because of how relaxing they are.

  • @ReeceyPeecey87
    @ReeceyPeecey87 Před 4 lety +2

    What my favorite CZcamsr makes a video in my birthday awesome

  • @nunosoares2329
    @nunosoares2329 Před 4 lety +1

    Hi Toby. Hope you're doing well. It's always a pleasure seeing and listening to you. I'm sure Mr. Hardy would think the same. All the best to you :-)

  • @swastikdey7498
    @swastikdey7498 Před 4 lety +8

    Oh boy.... Imma sending all your videos to playlists....... JEE ADVANCED is just near the corner.... Just lemme crack it and then Imgonna watch all your videos.

  • @HypothesisI
    @HypothesisI Před 4 lety +2

    Thank you for producing your work. I am neither a first, second or third rate mind but I love the window into mathematics and physics which you provide. Thank you Tibees!

  • @Luca_Talis
    @Luca_Talis Před 4 lety +10

    I'm taking a Mathematics A level this year!

  • @baruchbelmont5821
    @baruchbelmont5821 Před 4 lety +2

    Always a pleasure to see a new video by you Toby.

  • @tedskins
    @tedskins Před 4 lety +5

    These videos are great. It's like educational ASMR

  • @rogerhwerner6997
    @rogerhwerner6997 Před 4 lety

    Thank you for talking about Hardy. I'd honestly forgotten about his 'Apology.' I read it years ago in graduate school and found it rather moving. Hardy once said to Snow I think, "It is never worth a first-class man's time to express a majority opinion. By definition, there are plenty of others to do that." What a brilliant truism this is.

  • @Notofsoundmind
    @Notofsoundmind Před 4 lety +3

    I tip my hat to an incredibly charming, intelligent, and lovely mathematics enthusiast.

  • @ericmichelsen3233
    @ericmichelsen3233 Před 2 lety

    I can't say what Harding would think of you talking about Harding talking about math, but there is no doubt that you bring the joy of discovery to many people. What could be more worthwhile than that?

  • @ln5321
    @ln5321 Před 4 lety +6

    When you're making a video about a guy's writing and come across a burn on yourself being essentially called a third rate mind.

  • @onwarmermusic
    @onwarmermusic Před 4 lety

    I'm working through "Mathematics for Computer Science" on MIT's Open Courseware, and Hardy is mentioned briefly at the outset of one of the chapters. It's noted that he hoped number theory would not be used in warfare... and the chapter then goes on to discuss that very thing, by talking about Turing's work.
    I hadn't heard about Hardy until reading about him in that textbook, and this was a lovely companion to that. Really gave his character some extra depth. Thanks for making such a neat video.

  • @gemanimates
    @gemanimates Před 4 lety +4

    i forgot why i subscribed.

  • @edged1001
    @edged1001 Před 4 lety

    I remember as a 2nd yr engineering student in college sitting in a mathematics class where the lecturing professor went around the classroom asking each of us to "prove" pythagoras theorem . Not a single one of us could do so he chastised us saying we should know how to prove it as it was very beautiful. As engineers we were all more interested in how to use it to solve engineering problems.

  • @bluebite01
    @bluebite01 Před 4 lety +3

    A ti te perdonamos todo, mi amor, ojos bellos

  • @sc6155
    @sc6155 Před 4 lety

    I truly love you. I'm pursuing my master's degree in astrophysics and your videos are among the things that inspire me and remind me how beautiful science is. ❤️Love from Egypt.

  • @danicifu6031
    @danicifu6031 Před 4 lety +4

    This has depressed me ahaha🥴🥴

  • @emilyscloset2648
    @emilyscloset2648 Před 4 lety

    I don't remember why I first came to read a number of sections from a mathematician's apology but it is something that has fleetingly stuck with me these past few years.
    When reminded explicitly about the book (such as done excellently by this video), those feelings from when I first "discovered" it emerge to the surface, like they never left

  • @Ezrik2006
    @Ezrik2006 Před 4 lety

    I love the fact that you included the pen you use. Literally my favorite person on CZcams!

  • @btwineu2me
    @btwineu2me Před rokem

    We all have passions/hobbies for sure and we must try not to be influenced away from them. Hardy, Littlewood, Ramanujan all have motivations for their unending interests and activity.🌹

  • @grimes6357
    @grimes6357 Před 4 lety

    I recall when was working through a textbook on calculus that there was this property of ellipses, discovered by the ancient greeks, that had no practical application for about 2000 years. If a line is emitted from one focus and is reflected off of the surface of the ellipse, it will pass through the other focus. Eventually the medical community used this principle in a treatment of kidney stones call lithotripsy, whereby a person is placed within an elliptical chamber, with their bodies placed such that their kidney is at one focus while sound waves are emitted from the other. Some day, some of these un-applicable proofs may find a use.

  • @islamadam8502
    @islamadam8502 Před 4 lety

    I think people who specialise in theoretical fields become depressed when they start to consider what others think of them (like how practical is my work?), yet getting busy with abstract ideas is a blessing in itself, it takes one away from his animalistic materialistic side to a beautiful world of thoughts & ideas, it is a joy that not so many people can feel or comprehend.

  • @Ashish-gobal
    @Ashish-gobal Před 4 lety +1

    Mathematics has a vital role in our life. We can't imagine the world without it.👩‍🏫👩‍🏫

  • @phillair3813
    @phillair3813 Před rokem

    As a science and math teacher, I take the position that teaching these proofs creates critical minds, so there is at the same time revelation of truth and beauty. Truth to be used in some cases and beauty in others.

  • @waderivers3304
    @waderivers3304 Před 4 lety

    I watch primarily just to listen to her voice....and her exquisite face. The song by Sam And Dave comes to mind, Wonderful World.

  • @oatmealbro6977
    @oatmealbro6977 Před 4 lety +1

    Thumbnail game was sneaky good! Excellent content as usual, Tib! :)

  • @davideaccorsi5637
    @davideaccorsi5637 Před 4 lety

    Probably my point of view is limited, as I am an engineer and not a mathematician, but, honestly, I can't think of something more useful in everyday life than the differential calculus. Litterally the differential calculus make us able to design airplanes, bridges and skyscrapers.... And this incredibly powerful gift has been brought to us engineers by matematicians.

  • @jlvandat69
    @jlvandat69 Před 4 lety

    We should all be of such character and courage as to write a memoir that apologizes for the absence of value in our life's work, if there has been none.

  • @ordyhorizonrivieredunord712

    I don't have a clue about what all these mathematics lead to but I find them very poëtic when Tibees is trying to explain them to us. It took me weeks to figure out Pythagoras's square and I don't think that a circle could ever be square...If so I'm quite sure Tibee's gonna find a way to explain it that even me may very well understand.🌷

  • @shahtayyib
    @shahtayyib Před 4 lety

    I still have no idea what this channel is actually about but I am enlightened with every video.

  • @mrknarf4438
    @mrknarf4438 Před 4 lety +1

    I've stopped studying maths. In my bachelor's I couldn't see the beauty behind it, I loved (and still do!) the subject but hated the way it was taught and how much more emphasis was put on remembering formulas than on understanding them and seeing what was behind. Sometimes I regret it, but I just couldn't force myself to do it.

    • @Shaolin-Jesus
      @Shaolin-Jesus Před rokem

      You seem more inclined towards the philosophy of mathematics.
      this is a very organic way to approach such an abstract subject
      remain true, one should not do mathematics without regard for its origin.

  • @mrtubeyou77
    @mrtubeyou77 Před 4 lety

    I love mathematics. I am a candle. You are a lighthouse. I wish I could comprehend and remember as much as you do! Have a great day!

  • @MrPablitoKs
    @MrPablitoKs Před 4 lety

    Your pronunciation OMG
    It's so satisfying... Holly. I don't know much about math, pretty much just what I learned from your videos, Wich I can't stop watching

  • @thedecktothe16thpower56

    Ever wonder how deep the rabbit can really get just to see if it really does have a bottom.
    I swam in this abandoned quarry once where the sun just melted away into the darkness of the depths. The time of day was perfect. The Sun was on an angle. It was the weirdest chill when I realized this entanglement, at that time.
    I later found out a person died there. We got in trouble for camping out there later on that day as I was scouting for fish along the high banks.

  • @dabouras
    @dabouras Před 4 lety

    the shear intellectual accomplishments needed to construct mathematics are under appreciated.

  • @pedro.zoppiski
    @pedro.zoppiski Před 4 lety +2

    your voice is soooo calm, sooo charming, soooo elegant

  • @rick9870
    @rick9870 Před 4 lety

    I watched the previous video about Ramanujan and the book he supposedly read at 16. My eyes were glazed over by the second page of the algebra section, which was the first section of the book. I never complained about studying 20 semester hours of college math, but I have to admit I only got A's because the instructors allows cheat sheets in the class. I have gained an appreciation of math only in the OTHER college subjects where some math was brought in to elucidate that other subject.
    I can't imagine maintaining an interest in pure math., although I admit it is very important.

  • @peteregan3862
    @peteregan3862 Před 4 lety

    Value is in the eye of the beholder. It is easier to value others, difficult ourselves