By Samuel Belko, published on September 29, 2023.
In my opinion, studying math should ideally make you a person that is able to increase clarity & understanding.[1]
Some other reasons include:
Aesthetic appeal
Reduction to the essence
Attention to detail
Consistency, coherence
Unexpected connections
Compositionality, extension of simpler objects by compatible structures
Compact form via abstraction hierarchies
Existence of many well-written theory expositions
Mind-stretching concepts
Source of many Aha! moments
Ingenuity & originality
Creative thinking is encouraged and celebrated
Flexibility & universality
Efficient adaptation to a rapidly changing world by extending and reusing knowledge
Experiencing a compounding effect
Usefulness
Source of applicable methods
Foundation for science & technological innovation
Improvement of general problem solving & communication skills
Becoming a person with a high standard for conceptual clarity
| [1] | Please see discussion What's a mathematician to do? for more. |