Arrogant Mathematicians

[rob47]

Although my marijuana infected brain has no clue as to what the hell is going on or what they're talking about, the condescending behaviour of the particular user, stephen@nomail.com, is quite clear.  Read the first response to Kirby Cook's (a relative newbie it seems) thread. Esepcially the advice he leaves Kirby in parting. What a jerk.  These guys are way bigger geeks than anyone here.

https://mathforum.org/kb/thread.jspa?threadID=1148901&tstart=105

[bravuraoctaves]

Well, everybody has their faults.

[ted]

I do not think the style is particularly restricted to mathematics. Aggressive posting is a habit with many people on the internet because they simply enjoy arguing and trading insults. We need look no further than our own forum. The important thing for many posters in all sorts of fields is not that anything has been discovered or understood, but that argument has taken place and the adrenalin glands have been activated.

It is much the same in the metaphor and emotion riddled newspapers and news on the television. The search for truth would appear less important than the fact that conflict and emotional reaction have been generated in readers and viewers - exactly what and how doesn't matter - facts are of the least importance. 

[galonia]

Read the first response to Kirby Cook's (a relative newbie it seems) thread. Esepcially the advice he leaves Kirby in parting.

Well, actually, although I believe Stephen has misunderstood Kirby Cook's post, I have to agree with him that Kirby Cook's expression of his ideas is far from clear and rigorous.  And in mathematics, being clear and precise with your definitions and what you're talking about is very important.

And the advice, "Learn some mathematics" is quite commonly given to people who get things wrong - in my experience - so I don't think Kirby Cook is going to take that too personally.  I wouldn't consider that sort of comment to be arrogant or agressive.  It's par for the course.

[Daevren]

I didn't read all those replies (thank god), but internet does encourage aggressive discussions. People that in real life could enjoy a lighthearted fun evening together end up in harsh arguments in the internet.

Not nessesarely bad if you realise this and you don't take it personnally.

But really, musicians are some of the most arrogant people around. I guess this could be especially true for classical pianists.