Comment by andrewlgood | Hacker News Reader

Comment by andrewlgood | Hacker News Reader

Why are people giving mathematicians such delicate treatment? When steam-powered looms elimnated thousands of textile worker jobs; farm machinery took farming from roughly 50% of US labor in mid-1800's to 2% today; coal mining mechanization eliminated 80% of US mining jobs from 1920 to today; automated phone switches eliminated the entire profession of switchboard operators; etc. Even low tech improvements such as standardized containers for ocean transport eliminated thousands of jobs as longshoremen were no longer need to load and offload each item.

Does anyone bemoan these improvements?

I have seen hundreds of accounts receivable and accounts payable jobs eliminated as software developers created programs that could do much of their work faster, more accurately, and cheaper. Did the software development community bemoan the lost profession ap AP/AR Clerk? No, they bragged about the increased efficiency and cost savings.

Why are we bemoaning that technology is making PhD mathematicians less necessary? What is the goal, a better understanding of the world around us or employment for select professions?

According to the Smithsonian, there was a loud contingent of male accountants upset that they were being replaced with cheaper more capable female associates that had learned to use a computer in the days of manual accounting.

No consumer was upset when the printing press destroyed the scribes guild. Why should they be? A scribe's intelligent, they'll find something else to do.

No customer was upset when the plow and tractor reduced the need for human farm labor. Why should they be? Farmer's have a lot of grit and are hard workers, they'll manage.

But the accountants, scribes, and farmers were certainly worried, upset, and vocal about it.

It's just a tribe thing, and it always is.

This time, the tribe being effected is over-represented in the kinds of places you hang out, or else you wouldn't be hearing about it. No one in a plumbing office is worried about mathematicians being replaced.

Here we have lots of people at direct risk of losing funding and being replaced and so here we have people who are for potentially the first time having to deal with systemic career risk. They are as worried as anyone has ever been in the face of "hey good news, you're all unnecessary go find something else to do" and so are now having all of the same "but scribes give the text meaning" and "well are you a scribe because you believe in the mission of spreading good works or for a pay check because if you truly believed then the printing press isn't going to stop you from continuing your mission" discussions that have been had before.

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