theHigherGeometer on Nostr: Michael Harris once claimed I had mathematical privilege, when I pointed out in a ...

Michael Harris once claimed I had mathematical privilege, when I pointed out in a review that his writings come across as *incredibly* privileged (being invited to govt soirées in Paris, Ivy league background and position etc). I of course have only an adjunct academic position and have never lived outside Australia. My work is pretty obscure in a niche topic and I trouble envisioning my papers ending up in top journals as a result (I don't do mainstream differential geometry, or number theory, or PDEs or whatever is the thing that carries the most weight in the big-name general journals).

However, somehow, I have acquired privilege, despite all that. It struck me that I could email a number of leading figures in the mathematics community who through accidents of time know me, and expect a decent answer. I also have a relatively large platform in mathematical social media, I guess merely out of sheer persistence, but not because I aimed to.

I'm grateful for this privilege and the responsibility it gives me is something that only sometimes comes to mind. I know there are many people out there that do not have what I have, in this regard, and I shouldn't forget it.

So yes, I have a form of privilege. I cannot envy Michael Harris, it doesn't get me anywhere. The joy I get from doing mathematics and talking about it doesn't depend on me being an Ivy League professor.