What motivates famous mathematicians?

[themasterchief]

TL;DR

Math undergrad who would like to treat my work like play, like I am a kid ‘living out my dreams’ when doing research, but wondering if any successful mathematicians have such an attitude.

Hi all, I am a math undergraduate who studies math solely when I crave dopamine — when I feel a “kiddish,” soaring excitement. As a result, however, I am unable to focus for consistent, long periods of time and thus succeed at research. For this reason, would any of you happen to know if any successful mathematicians feel a kiddish excitement about their work, treating it less like work and lore like play? (And if so, whether you might have some concrete examples?) Or if there are no such mathematicians, what motivates them, if they don’t feel a kiddish excitement on a day-to-day basis?

TLDR: Ultimately, I would like to treat my work like play, like I am a kid ‘living out my dreams’ when doing research. If that’s tough in practice, though, knowing now, before grad school, would be extremely clarifying and deeply appreciated.

 

[pinball1970]

TL;DR Summary: Math undergrad who would like to treat my work like play, like I am a kid ‘living out my dreams’ when doing research, but wondering if any successful mathematicians have such an attitude.

Hi all, I am a math undergraduate who studies math solely when I crave dopamine — when I feel a “kiddish,” soaring excitement. As a result, however, I am unable to focus for consistent, long periods of time and thus succeed at research. For this reason, would any of you happen to know if any successful mathematicians feel a kiddish excitement about their work, treating it less like work and lore like play? (And if so, whether you might have some concrete examples?) Or if there are no such mathematicians, what motivates them, if they don’t feel a kiddish excitement on a day-to-day basis?

TLDR: Ultimately, I would like to treat my work like play, like I am a kid ‘living out my dreams’ when doing research. If that’s tough in practice, though, knowing now, before grad school, would be extremely clarifying and deeply appreciated.

I think this guy enjoyed his mathematics

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Erdős

 

[fresh_42]

TL;DR Summary: Math undergrad who would like to treat my work like play, like I am a kid ‘living out my dreams’ when doing research, but wondering if any successful mathematicians have such an attitude.

Hi all, I am a math undergraduate who studies math solely when I crave dopamine — when I feel a “kiddish,” soaring excitement. As a result, however, I am unable to focus for consistent, long periods of time and thus succeed at research. For this reason, would any of you happen to know if any successful mathematicians feel a kiddish excitement about their work, treating it less like work and lore like play? (And if so, whether you might have some concrete examples?) Or if there are no such mathematicians, what motivates them, if they don’t feel a kiddish excitement on a day-to-day basis?

TLDR: Ultimately, I would like to treat my work like play, like I am a kid ‘living out my dreams’ when doing research. If that’s tough in practice, though, knowing now, before grad school, would be extremely clarifying and deeply appreciated.

The problem is less the attitude as it is the toolbox! A wise man once told me, "You might have a brilliant idea at night, but you need to sit down and work on it in the morning!" The working part is crucial, and to work efficiently, you need a big toolbox, the bigger the better. This frequently occurs to me when I read Tao's blog and his theorems. It is playing with ideas at first glance, but a closer look reveals the incredible background that he has where he takes the proof techniques from. Playing with an idea is one thing, knowing possible theorems and techniques that could be applicable is another.