"You ask me a question": Part 2 of N. Mathematical historians.

Introduction: See this previous blog post for more information about this practice of allowing students to ask me a question on their quizzes.

My Thoughts: I particularly liked this question because it shows the student is interested in pursuing mathematics after college but perhaps not necessarily as a researcher or teacher. It's a trite but fair question: "Jeez, what am I gonna do with a math degree?" I worry that this question is so common from students (and the general populace) because we math teachers don't do enough to show students the variety of careers and passions that one can pursue, having studied mathematics. Certainly, teaching and academia are available, but there are so many others! Especially in a field like this, where one can feel overwhelmed easily by the complexity and difficulty of its content, it's extremely important to remind students that they truly can find their own place in the world of mathematics and that we're here to help them do so.

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Context: Real Analysis course (for advanced math majors).

Question: How much of a market is there for math historians?

My Answer: Depends on what you mean by "market". They certainly exist! There are many fascinating books published every year about the history of math, its ideas, its development, and its people. Several of these writers are academic mathematicians who have turned to the history of math as their subject material, while others are historians who are enthused by mathematics.
I strongly recommend any books by:

• William Dunham (especially Journey Through Genius)
• Keith Devlin (especially The Man of Numbers about Fibonacci)
• Charles Seife (especially Proofiness)

There are also some great biographies of particular mathematicians. I recommend:

• A Beautiful Mind (about John Nash)
• The Man Who Loved Only Numbers (about Paul Erdos)
• Logicomix (graphic novel about Bertrand Russell, Georg Cantor, Gottlob Frege, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and many others)

I also happen to belong to a SIGMAA (Special Interest Group of the Mathematical Association of America) devoted to the History of Mathematics.

So, there are plenty of math historians out there, and there will always be plenty of things for them to investigate, study, and write about. If you're interested in the sociocultural aspects of mathematics, its development over time, and the people who have shaped it ... by all means make a career out of it. Many people have!