04-05-2003, 05:58 AM
i actually thought of being a professor too...either in mathematics or computer science...but you have to always produce results...in the math department at my university, you are expected to get at least two significant papers published on your work a year.
i have this one professor, who always seemed bitter for some reason. i found out that 10 years ago, he came up with an exciting theory. he got to travel and give lectures at M.I.T., berkely, princeton, cambridge, etc...he was a hit at international math conferences. he got a tenured position because of it.
the problem is he had no real proof (in mathematics, a proof is extremely rigorous, just a convincing argument won't do as i'm sure he has plenty) that his theory was correct. as the years went by, people became less and less interested. he worked day and night on a solution...even to this day...but to no avail. if he can prove it, he'll become famous in the math/science community...so he was a hot shot and now he's not. i always thought he was kind of a mean guy, but now i feel sorry for him...if the solution never comes, he's wasted so much time. i bet this happens a lot...i don't want it to happen to me...i can only imagine the fustration he feels.
i have this one professor, who always seemed bitter for some reason. i found out that 10 years ago, he came up with an exciting theory. he got to travel and give lectures at M.I.T., berkely, princeton, cambridge, etc...he was a hit at international math conferences. he got a tenured position because of it.
the problem is he had no real proof (in mathematics, a proof is extremely rigorous, just a convincing argument won't do as i'm sure he has plenty) that his theory was correct. as the years went by, people became less and less interested. he worked day and night on a solution...even to this day...but to no avail. if he can prove it, he'll become famous in the math/science community...so he was a hot shot and now he's not. i always thought he was kind of a mean guy, but now i feel sorry for him...if the solution never comes, he's wasted so much time. i bet this happens a lot...i don't want it to happen to me...i can only imagine the fustration he feels.