Keynote Remarks at the Conference on Computers and Mathematics
Edward E. David · 2020
Computing is among the newest arrivals to science and technology; in fact, in some respects, such as software, it has barely begun the transition from art to science. The academic mathematics community is concerned that it is not getting the support needed to replace itself during the inevitable wave of retirements in the 90s. The computer science community is concerned that it is not getting the support needed for it to meet the wave of growth in the field. The first peculiar feature of mathematics, one that sets it apart of most other fields of research, is that financially it is a very small field. Within industry as whole, one can observe a worsening preoccupation with short-term results. A worsening focus on the “paper entrepreneurism” of mergers and acquisitions rather than innovation, higher productivity, and international competitiveness.