Existentialism Reversed

Mathematics and science-related jobs care for people's physical needs. They exist to make life easier. People study science to create a cure for cancer and save lives. People study math to design faster cars and hotter ovens. People study math and science to wire cell phones, television, and the internet. Math and science have carried the US from log cabins to skyscrapers. Everything "modern" owes its existence to math and science. Together, they take care of our physical world. But I desire a nobler profession. Instead of catering to people's bodies, I want to shepherd their minds. Writing, philosophy, psychology -- these occupations do little to advance our world on a tangible level. We spur change in a different dimension. We ask questions; we seek purpose; we put thoughts in your head. If the earth is merely a poor reflection of the true life to come, why waste time running a physical race? If you can know it through your five senses -- sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell -- it will perish. Writing, philosophy, and psychology deal with imperishable things. We sharpen the most powerful tools -- our minds. My grandpa's shirt says, "Math is life. The remainder is just a series of unknowns." But those unknowns decide where you will spend eternity.