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Why do we need human mathematicians anymore?

293 points · 384 comments · auggierose

  1. retrocog · · focus · HN ↗
    A village builds a clock tower so everyone can glance up at it and know what time it is. The tower helps as people meet more easily, work schedules align, and meals are shared. Over time, fewer people watch the sun and the clock becomes authoritative. When it stops working, nobody knows what time it is. Discord ensues and arguments follow as meetings are missed and people wait impatiently for repairs. An older woman in the village kept baking at dawn and never stopped watching the sun. She never relied on the clock. Villagers gathers at her door and call her wise, for her practice ends up inadvertently helping to re-calibrate the clock once it is repaired. She replies that she is not wise or special and was just going about her usual baking routine.
    1. falcor84 · · focus · HN ↗
      I assume this is satire, as obviously they could recalibrate by the sun itself, and the baker is superfluous here.
      1. vinyl7 · · focus · HN ↗
        Relevant talk about preventing the collapse of civilization <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=ZSRHeXYDLko" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=ZSRHeXYDLko
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