Unpopular Opinion? The aesthetics of the math matter far more than one might admit.
I find myself pursuing math and physics, in part, based on how pretty it is to look at, which influences what classes I took and what proofs and derivations I choose to engage in. I am not talking about the content of the math at all, I am solely talking about the symbols used.
I am particularly drawn to the partial derivative ∂, so much that now I am doing fluid dynamics for my PhD, because I love the aura of Navier-Stokes and all that, regardless of how difficult or inelegant the math actually is. Seeing ψ used for streamfunction or ζ for vorticity is what kept me going day after day. So fields that aesthetically close to PDEs are also appealing to me like complex analysis, Fourier stuff, or field theories, which are all just so elegant, sexy, and aura-full.
I find no such appeal in abstract algebra, applied linear algebra, number theory and especially set theory, where the math itself is beautiful, elegant, and extremely powerful, but how it look on the page is just so ugly. I understand beauty in the eye of the beholder, but I can't be alone in feeling this way, perhaps.
I thought about whether I would still want to fluid dynamics if it looks on the page like abstract algebra, and the answer would absolutely be no. And that's so funny to me.
How many people got into Quantum mechanics because they use wavefunction ψ, <,> bra-ket notation, and Hilbert spaces? How many people got through calculus because the integral ∫ looks cool.
What do you all think? Do you find certain areas of math more aesthetic than others.