Let me begin with the following declaration: “Not anyone can do mathematics” or “Mathematics is not for everybody.” Who should be doing mathematics then? Some people might say smart people. Being smart is certainly helpful to do mathematics. Someone being smart is a necessary condition to be a mathematician but not a sufficient condition. In other words, being smart does not necessarily mean that one can be a mathematician. As seen from math’s many difficult problems that have haunted the smartest mathematicians, one can’t be too smart in the world of mathematics. The awe-striking depth and difficulty of mathematics make any smart person who studies it humble. But then such depth and difficulty are also the reasons that make mathematics so attractive to people who love doing mathematics. Yes, to love doing mathematics is the first and the foremost qualification to be a mathematician. You may not be so smart but you can still be a mathematician as long as you love doing mathematics. You may be slower than some of others but you can eventually encounter a glimpse of the true beauty of Mother Nature if you are patient and persistent. Being a mathematician is comparable to being an artist. Being a mathematician means that you are just fascinated with the beauty of Mother Nature, even a glimpse of it, and you have insatiable desire to quest after the hidden beautiful structures of Mother Nature.
If you wonder what mathematics is useful for, what the purpose of doing mathematics is, or why one must do mathematics, while they are quite legitimate questions by laypeople, you are already disqualified to be a mathematician. Mathematics is really for people who love doing it not because it is useful but because it is beautiful.
