Math and Creative Writing

[alanajoli]

Having read the post from Whedonesque written by Joss Whedon about how many people don't consider writing to be "work," fellow Browncoat Nitsan (aka Snackyette) wrote:

"I'm a mathematician, and what I do each day is in many ways similar to what a writer does. I go to my office and I sit, think, write some things down that other people haven't thought of yet (hopefully), think some more, read something to give me background or ideas, think some more, write some more, and then listen to someone else talk about what they're thinking about.

"Most people find it incomprehensible that I think about math and come up with new math for a living, kind of like making a living out of thinking about stories and coming up with new ones."

I've often compared musicians, theater folks, and visual artists to writers, but it had never before occurred to me to think of math as a creative profession. The idea enchanted me so much that I asked Nitsan if I could pass it along. It also makes me wonder what other professions I've taken for granted that are both work--and creative!

Comments

[holmes-iv.livejournal.com]

<raises hand>
Or at least, we like to think it is. ;-)

Thing is, Software also (like writing) has sub-disciplines attached to it that are uncreative as hell (I refer here to the local equivalent of fixing other people's grammar and spelling, which is what I'm doing this evening). And those are the parts that are easy to explain to people who don't have a background in the field.

We also have our share of crack-smoking higher-ups who think that it's all strictly mechanical, and that nine women can etc., and that you improve people's productivity by making them scared about deadlines. The similarity ends when you consider salaries, though (he says, thankfully).

[plura.livejournal.com]

my parents won't shut up about how much creativity math permits. they think that if they could get it into my head that math has room for creativity that i'll become a theoretical physicist like i very well should. heh.

[amieroserotruck.livejournal.com]

Don't know if you knew this, but I am also an engineer. I always loved math and science and was puzzled when people said that writing was completely different. Same thought process for both, different results. Thanks for the quote, I need to pass that on to a mathmatician friend!

[wildly-hopeful.livejournal.com]

I absolutely love that!!! I never before thought of math and writing being so similar either. I suppose that would be because I find myself drawn more towards words than numbers. How intriguing!