I’ve made so many more friends in the math department by being honest and upfront about the shit I don’t know. For example: I know almost goose egg about applied math. Game theory, algebraic geometry, combinatorics, COMPUTER SCIENCE and I have a lot of friends who do those things because even if we can’t have high level discussions about their work, I make it clear I respect what they do and we can have intelligent conversations that aren’t centered around Who’s Smarter and Who Knows What and no one feels threatened or judged
I try to make it incredibly clear to people what I do and don’t know and what I think is difficult and I’ve made a lot of friends because people feel comfortable talking to each other WHEN THEY DONT FEEL INCREDIBLY JUDGED for what they think they’re supposed to know. I make it abundantly clear that I am Allergic to Combinatorics and that my algebra isn’t as strong as my analysis or that geometry is 100% not my strong suit. I’m bad at elementary number theory and I’m not so good at computation at all but I’m good at set theory and explaining things and I’m even better at making connections between fields.
I just wish the math community was better at admitting what they DONT know instead of constantly trying to show off what they do, STEM is such a dick measuring contest sometimes it’s embarrassing and counterproductive and Ugly
Know what you know and know what you don’t know and be honest about it. The best people I’ve met are those that are respectful and stay in their mathematical lane and admit their shortcomings. Everyone else is trash and don’t ever bother with people/feel threatened by anyone who can’t say the words “I don’t know.”
