In pursuit of mathematical beauty
— Helen Della Nave, Open Source Science Manager
I often ask new research partners to draw and describe their research process. Then, we use it as a tool to explore opportunities to involve public audiences within the process, rather than just disseminating our findings.
I have a plethora of different responses from researchers but Hermes Gadelha from Bristol University stunned me with his poetic response to mathematics. This is my transcription of how he described his research.
In pursuit of mathematical beauty by Hermes Gadelha
The mountains represent the start of the process, this is a period of contemplation, a honeymoon period where I fall in love with the complexity of the world around me.
But there is too much complexity to stay here and I need help, help to choose what direction I will take in my journey. There is a road out of here, a road paved by other people’s understanding, I follow that road until I reach the end, and I realize. I realize that no one has asked my question before. Now I am on my own and I need to go deeper and learn more.
I am in the spiral of entanglement; I am looking at different parts of the same thing from different perspectives. This stage is painful, there are no shortcuts. This involves a deep exploration. Eventually there will be hope and light at the end of the tunnel. This period is also lots of fun, discoveries are amazing, but I have gone as far as I can on my own. Now I need other people and a community. multidisciplinary, multifaceted.
I find a door and people to help me. I use tools and equipment and now I can see the beauty. There are different shades of beauty throughout. I finally reach my goal, the pursuit of beauty. Maths helps me to create beauty from the entanglement.
I celebrate.
