I liked this quote too, though I wonder if it's not more out of necessity and the special nature of math than anything else.
Mathematicians speak languages non-math people can't grasp, so they gravitate toward and connect to one another.
Math simply doesn't advance without promiscuous sharing of ideas. Soviet censors notwithstanding, there's certainly a reason correspondence like this was permitted even during the Cold War.
You could say that the above is true of other sciences, but I imagine falsification of results in math is extremely difficult or just impossible. So math is mostly immune (I suggest) to the politics and protectionism that inevitably emerges around fuzzy and controversial scientific disciplines.
Just look at the good faith Julia has in her treatment of Chudnovsky's work. Even the skepticism is respectful.
Mathematicians speak languages non-math people can't grasp, so they gravitate toward and connect to one another.
Math simply doesn't advance without promiscuous sharing of ideas. Soviet censors notwithstanding, there's certainly a reason correspondence like this was permitted even during the Cold War.
You could say that the above is true of other sciences, but I imagine falsification of results in math is extremely difficult or just impossible. So math is mostly immune (I suggest) to the politics and protectionism that inevitably emerges around fuzzy and controversial scientific disciplines.
Just look at the good faith Julia has in her treatment of Chudnovsky's work. Even the skepticism is respectful.