alt Hacker News> Mathematicians are paid to prove theorems
lol who is paying for this? Mathematicians are generally paid to do other things and get to do this kind of work as a side effect.
Replies
superjan • today at 8:31 PM
Not a mathematician, but I suppose there is pressure to publish like everywhere else in academia. And a publication generally requires a new contribution.
In academia they are paid to produce papers (and get some chores done like teaching), hopefully ones that can result in bombastic press releases, or winning awards.
On a more abstract level they are paid to bring funding and prestige to the university, but that often goes through the route of papers. And papers often involve proving theorems.