The short answer to this question is: of course! The long answer is that it takes quite a bit of time, practice and patience to get there.

The reality is that mathematics, at its core, serves as a means to approach problems of any nature. Additionally, mathematics offers an alternative way of thinking. Mathematicians are proficient at noticing patterns, but most of all, at making sure that patterns satisfying the mathematician’s needs, arise.

As Albert Einstein, in an obituary that appeared on the New York Times in 1935 after the death of Emmy Noether, said: “Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas.”

More importantly, to become a mathematician, one needs to be smitten by this way of thinking, rather than simply wanting to find an application to their studies. The unrelenting desire of having to clear a doubt, solve a problem, or prove a theorem are defining traits of a mathematician. We refer to this emotion as mathematical curiosity, which is naturally acquired by asking oneself or a mentor, “What if?” and “Why so?” at every observation.

With distractions increasingly pervading our lives, this characteristic is slowly fading, which may prevent to produce new mathematicians in the next generations. Thus, perseverance is a vital asset for mathematicians, no matter where they are in their mathematical journey.