Devil's advocate: they liked the little bits of math they were exposed to.

I don't know if there's a field i like. But there's something intoxicating in math. Sometimes it's very strong. I listened to a CS lecture now and normally I find CS a bit boring but as he kept describing aspects of the problem he was facing (finding points in intersecting disks) and as the problem got more complicated I got the itch lol. Sitting in a logic class is more exciting than a roller coaster. It's a bit scary because I don't understand why.

Makes sense, and I think many people fall into that category. Saying "there's something intoxicating in math" and that you enjoyed the roller coaster of a logic class already excludes one from the situation I am describing.

My comment was too judgemental. People should be allowed to say that they enjoy something without any follow-up and without being judged for it. I think that sometimes it just seems like a facade when people say they really like math because when you try start a conversation on the topic its like they're not actually interested in it at all. It gives the impression there's something disingenuous about their proclamation of liking math. But perhaps its just the way I personally have approached it.

Maybe it's the shallowness of pop math? I sometimes find pop math even insulting. Not a grown up response, sure, but how many times can you hear "WaOw there are Bigger infinities???" sure it's nice that they find it cool but when I start to talk about the things that are more interesting I can see the shift in them as they quickly get bored. Perhaps it's the quick realization that no one outside of math actually cares that is insulting, after all those times they hyped us up.

To me the perfect example of people who claim to "love math" but actually don't are people who wax endlessly about something like Category Theory (or non-classical logic), but they can't even define what a group is.

No disrespect towards any serious scholar of Category Theory or Constructivism.

I think you're being a bit harsh. I can barely do simple algebra right now but I like math. I liked my math classes in high school and college because it felt satisfying to both learn and solve problems. It felt challenging in a unique way that my brain had never been forced to do before. It felt good that I was above average at it and it felt good to understand something something that started off looking like gibberish.

You can love paintings without knowing anything about how to paint.

Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh. On the other hand, I feel its more similar to asking someone who says "I love reading fiction" what is a book they liked and them not having an answer.

Yeah but it is the situation. I remember a roommate saying "I love math!". When I talked with her a bit I understood she likes doing solutions of easy integrals\derivatives because they are simple, relaxing, and rewarding for her - her math classes were easy and she could get accolades by just doing those simple excersizes. Ofcourse the distance between that and a proper field of math is vast. But that was math for her.

There are comments on HN I find correlate to blithe superciliousness. A light expression of common sentiment (math is beautiful!) without domain knowledge is somehow a marker of social superiority... yeesh. kandel's sibling comment being the kind of reasonable rejoinder that shouldn't have to exist if there was a good faith follow-up to this sort of conversation, instead of turning up the nose...

You know what, I think you're right. I should be less judgemental. I'm not sure why I thought that was okay. I think some of it comes from the disappointment when someone describes themselves as loving math being part of their personality, but then when I try to engage with that as a jumping-off point or common interest its like there's nothing there.

Props to you. Thanks for the kind follow-up