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Pure mathematics
Pure mathematics is the study of mathematical concepts
independently of any application outside mathematics. These
concepts may originate in real-world concerns, and the results
obtained may later turn out to be useful for practical
applications, but pure mathematicians are not primarily
motivated by such applications. Instead, the appeal is attributed
to the intellectual challenge and aesthetic beauty of working out
the logical consequences of basic principles.

While pure mathematics has existed as an activity since at least

Ancient Greece, the concept was elaborated upon around the
year 1900,[1] after the introduction of theories with counter-
intuitive properties (such as non-Euclidean geometries and
Cantor's theory of infinite sets), and the discovery of apparent
paradoxes (such as continuous functions that are nowhere Pure mathematics studies the properties
differentiable, and Russell's paradox). This introduced the need and structure of abstract objects, such as
to renew the concept of mathematical rigor and rewrite all the E8 group, in group theory. This may
mathematics accordingly, with a systematic use of axiomatic be done without focusing on concrete
methods. This led many mathematicians to focus on applications of the concepts in the
mathematics for its own sake, that is, pure mathematics. physical world

Nevertheless, almost all mathematical theories remained

motivated by problems coming from the real world or from less abstract mathematical theories. Also,
many mathematical theories, which had seemed to be totally pure mathematics, were eventually used in
applied areas, mainly physics and computer science. A famous early example is Isaac Newton's
demonstration that his law of universal gravitation implied that planets move in orbits that are conic
sections, geometrical curves that had been studied in antiquity by Apollonius. Another example is the
problem of factoring large integers, which is the basis of the RSA cryptosystem, widely used to secure
internet communications.[2]

It follows that, presently, the distinction between pure and applied mathematics is more a philosophical
point of view or a mathematician's preference than a rigid subdivision of mathematics. In particular, it is
not uncommon that some members of a department of applied mathematics describe themselves as pure
mathematicians.

Contents
History
Ancient Greece
19th century
20th century
Generality and abstraction
Pure vs. applied mathematics

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See also
References
External links

History

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greek mathematicians were among the earliest to make a distinction between pure and applied
mathematics. Plato helped to create the gap between "arithmetic", now called number theory, and
"logistic", now called arithmetic. Plato regarded logistic (arithmetic) as appropriate for businessmen and
men of war who "must learn the art of numbers or [they] will not know how to array [their] troops" and
arithmetic (number theory) as appropriate for philosophers "because [they have] to arise out of the sea
of change and lay hold of true being."[3] Euclid of Alexandria, when asked by one of his students of what
use was the study of geometry, asked his slave to give the student threepence, "since he must make gain
of what he learns."[4] The Greek mathematician Apollonius of Perga was asked about the usefulness of
some of his theorems in Book IV of Conics to which he proudly asserted,[5]

They are worthy of acceptance for the sake of the demonstrations themselves, in the same
way as we accept many other things in mathematics for this and for no other reason.

And since many of his results were not applicable to the science or engineering of his day, Apollonius
further argued in the preface of the fifth book of Conics that the subject is one of those that "...seem
worthy of study for their own sake."[5]

19th century

The term itself is enshrined in the full title of the Sadleirian Chair, Sadleirian Professor of Pure
Mathematics, founded (as a professorship) in the mid-nineteenth century. The idea of a separate
discipline of pure mathematics may have emerged at that time. The generation of Gauss made no
sweeping distinction of the kind, between pure and applied. In the following years, specialisation and
professionalisation (particularly in the Weierstrass approach to mathematical analysis) started to make a
rift more apparent.

20th century

At the start of the twentieth century mathematicians took up the axiomatic method, strongly influenced
by David Hilbert's example. The logical formulation of pure mathematics suggested by Bertrand
Russell in terms of a quantifier structure of propositions seemed more and more plausible, as large parts
of mathematics became axiomatised and thus subject to the simple criteria of rigorous proof.

Pure mathematics, according to a view that can be ascribed to the Bourbaki group, is what is proved.
Pure mathematician became a recognized vocation, achievable through training.

The case was made that pure mathematics is useful in engineering education:[6]
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There is a training in habits of thought, points of view, and intellectual comprehension of ordinary
engineering problems, which only the study of higher mathematics can give.

Generality and abstraction

One central concept in pure mathematics is the
idea of generality; pure mathematics often
exhibits a trend towards increased generality.
Uses and advantages of generality include the
following: An illustration of the Banach–Tarski paradox, a famous
result in pure mathematics. Although it is proven that it is
Generalizing theorems or mathematical possible to convert one sphere into two using nothing but
structures can lead to deeper understanding cuts and rotations, the transformation involves objects that
of the original theorems or structures cannot exist in the physical world.
Generality can simplify the presentation of
material, resulting in shorter proofs or
arguments that are easier to follow.
One can use generality to avoid duplication of effort, proving a general result instead of having to
prove separate cases independently, or using results from other areas of mathematics.
Generality can facilitate connections between different branches of mathematics. Category theory is
one area of mathematics dedicated to exploring this commonality of structure as it plays out in some
areas of math.

Generality's impact on intuition is both dependent on the subject and a matter of personal preference or
learning style. Often generality is seen as a hindrance to intuition, although it can certainly function as
an aid to it, especially when it provides analogies to material for which one already has good intuition.

As a prime example of generality, the Erlangen program involved an expansion of geometry to

accommodate non-Euclidean geometries as well as the field of topology, and other forms of geometry, by
viewing geometry as the study of a space together with a group of transformations. The study of
numbers, called algebra at the beginning undergraduate level, extends to abstract algebra at a more
advanced level; and the study of functions, called calculus at the college freshman level becomes
mathematical analysis and functional analysis at a more advanced level. Each of these branches of more
abstract mathematics have many sub-specialties, and there are in fact many connections between pure
mathematics and applied mathematics disciplines. A steep rise in abstraction was seen mid 20th
century.

In practice, however, these developments led to a sharp divergence from physics, particularly from 1950
to 1983. Later this was criticised, for example by Vladimir Arnold, as too much Hilbert, not enough
Poincaré. The point does not yet seem to be settled, in that string theory pulls one way, while discrete
mathematics pulls back towards proof as central.

Pure vs. applied mathematics

Mathematicians have always had differing opinions regarding the distinction between pure and applied
mathematics. One of the most famous (but perhaps misunderstood) modern examples of this debate can
be found in G.H. Hardy's A Mathematician's Apology.

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It is widely believed that Hardy considered applied mathematics to be ugly and dull. Although it is true
that Hardy preferred pure mathematics, which he often compared to painting and poetry, Hardy saw the
distinction between pure and applied mathematics to be simply that applied mathematics sought to
express physical truth in a mathematical framework, whereas pure mathematics expressed truths that
were independent of the physical world. Hardy made a separate distinction in mathematics between
what he called "real" mathematics, "which has permanent aesthetic value", and "the dull and elementary
parts of mathematics" that have practical use.

Hardy considered some physicists, such as Einstein and Dirac, to be among the "real" mathematicians,
but at the time that he was writing the Apology he considered general relativity and quantum mechanics
to be "useless", which allowed him to hold the opinion that only "dull" mathematics was useful.
Moreover, Hardy briefly admitted that—just as the application of matrix theory and group theory to
physics had come unexpectedly—the time may come where some kinds of beautiful, "real" mathematics
may be useful as well.

Another insightful view is offered by Magid:

I've always thought that a good model here could be drawn from ring theory. In that subject,
one has the subareas of commutative ring theory and non-commutative ring theory. An
uninformed observer might think that these represent a dichotomy, but in fact the latter
subsumes the former: a non-commutative ring is a not-necessarily-commutative ring. If we
use similar conventions, then we could refer to applied mathematics and nonapplied
mathematics, where by the latter we mean not-necessarily-applied mathematics... [emphasis
added][7]

See also
Applied mathematics
Logic
Metalogic
Metamathematics

References
1. Piaggio, H. T. H., "Sadleirian Professors" (http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Extras/Sadleirian
_Professors.html), in O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F. (eds.), MacTutor History of
Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews.
2. Robinson, Sara (June 2003). "Still Guarding Secrets after Years of Attacks, RSA Earns Accolades
for its Founders" (http://www.msri.org/people/members/sara/articles/rsa.pdf) (PDF). SIAM News. 36
(5).
3. Boyer, Carl B. (1991). "The age of Plato and Aristotle". A History of Mathematics (https://archive.org/
details/historyofmathema00boye/page/86) (Second ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. 86 (https://archi
ve.org/details/historyofmathema00boye/page/86). ISBN 0-471-54397-7. "Plato is important in the
history of mathematics largely for his role as inspirer and director of others, and perhaps to him is
due the sharp distinction in ancient Greece between arithmetic (in the sense of the theory of
numbers) and logistic (the technique of computation). Plato regarded logistic as appropriate for the
businessman and for the man of war, who "must learn the art of numbers or he will not know how to
array his troops." The philosopher, on the other hand, must be an arithmetician "because he has to
arise out of the sea of change and lay hold of true being.""
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1/20/2021 Pure mathematics - Wikipedia

4. Boyer, Carl B. (1991). "Euclid of Alexandria". A History of Mathematics (https://archive.org/details/his

toryofmathema00boye/page/101) (Second ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. 101 (https://archive.org/
details/historyofmathema00boye/page/101). ISBN 0-471-54397-7. "Evidently Euclid did not stress
the practical aspects of his subject, for there is a tale told of him that when one of his students asked
of what use was the study of geometry, Euclid asked his slave to give the student threepence, "since
he must make gain of what he learns.""
5. Boyer, Carl B. (1991). "Apollonius of Perga". A History of Mathematics (https://archive.org/details/hist
oryofmathema00boye/page/152) (Second ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. 152 (https://archive.org/d
etails/historyofmathema00boye/page/152). ISBN 0-471-54397-7. "It is in connection with the
theorems in this book that Apollonius makes a statement implying that in his day, as in ours, there
were narrow-minded opponents of pure mathematics who pejoratively inquired about the usefulness
of such results. The author proudly asserted: "They are worthy of acceptance for the sake of the
demonstrations themselves, in the same way as we accept many other things in mathematics for this
and for no other reason." (Heath 1961, p.lxxiv).
The preface to Book V, relating to maximum and minimum straight lines drawn to a conic, again
argues that the subject is one of those that seem "worthy of study for their own sake." While one
must admire the author for his lofty intellectual attitude, it may be pertinently pointed out that s day
was beautiful theory, with no prospect of applicability to the science or engineering of his time, has
since become fundamental in such fields as terrestrial dynamics and celestial mechanics."
6. A. S. Hathaway (1901) "Pure mathematics for engineering students" (http://www.ams.org/journals/bul
l/1901-07-06/S0002-9904-1901-00797-5/S0002-9904-1901-00797-5.pdf), Bulletin of the American
Mathematical Society 7(6):266–71.
7. Andy Magid (November 2005) Letter from the Editor (http://www.ams.org/notices/200510/commentar
y.pdf), Notices of the American Mathematical Society, page 1173

External links
What is Pure Mathematics? (https://uwaterloo.ca/pure-mathematics/about-pure-math/what-is-pure-m
ath) – Department of Pure Mathematics, University of Waterloo
What is Pure Mathematics? (http://www.liv.ac.uk/maths/PURE/wipm.html) by Professor P. J. Giblin
The University of Liverpool
The Principles of Mathematics (http://fair-use.org/bertrand-russell/the-principles-of-mathematics) by
Bertrand Russell
How to Become a Pure Mathematician (or Statistician) (http://hk.mathphy.googlepages.com/puremat
h.htm), a list of undergraduate and basic graduate textbooks and lecture notes, with several
comments and links to solutions, companion sites, data sets, errata pages, etc.

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