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From: jml@cs.strath.ac.uk (Joseph McLean)
Newsgroups: sci.math
Subject: Military funding in mathematics
Message-ID: <295@stracs.cs.strath.ac.uk>
Date: Mon, 27-Oct-86 04:50:00 EST
Article-I.D.: stracs.295
Posted: Mon Oct 27 04:50:00 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 29-Oct-86 09:18:57 EST
Reply-To: jml@cs.strath.ac.uk (Joseph McLean)
Organization: Department of Computer Science at Strathclyde University, UK.
Lines: 31


With all this argument for and against military funding of mathematics,or
for and against some military funding,I would like to point out the
following.Before this,bear in mind that being from Britain,the SDI
doesn't particularly affect me,and that I am not expressing my own
opinions in this article.

   During the French revolution,arguably the six greatest mathematicians
of the period worked for the new France either in technical capacity or
for teaching.The six are Lagrange,Legendre,Laplace,Monge,Condorcet and
Carnot.I could even throw in Fourier and Poisson.Either directly or
indirectly these mathematicians,whether politically motivated or not,
either taught in military academies,went on campaigns as technical
advisors,or even took up influential political positions.
  Without these mathematicians,mathematics in general would probably be
several decades behind its present position.
  Thus there are some things to point out:-
1)Military crises directly encourage mathematics.
2)Mathematics doesn't win wars.
3)Mathematicians come in every conceivable political attitude.
4)There's no accounting for taste.


I hope this is borne in mind in future arguments.

    ---jml,the historical mathematician.


"Anti-right,anti-left,anticipate the love of creation."

Being anti-war and non-pacifist at the same time.