Forms of Professional Activity in Mathematics before the Nineteenth Century

Abstract

In 1977 a questionnaire was sent to all mathematics graduates of the BRD asking what their current professional activity was. This very fact demonstrates that while the existence of a specialized training program forms the basis for recognizing the professional status of the mathematician in current society, the manner and extent of the ever-changing and expanding possibilities for utilizing the special skills of this professional group must be constantly reexamined. These shifts are even recognizable in the instructional program itself, for the course offerings in the various institutions of learning are closely correlated with current research, which influences not only the composition and selection of materials for required courses of study but also the introduction of new disciplines. That even areas considered as the core of the educational curriculum are subject to gradual change is indicated by the progressively diminishing course offerings in number theory and geometry, which were once considered classical areas of study, but are scarcely even regarded in current research.