[trhr]

Imagine being this author's parents at parties. "Yes, our son is a Computer Scientist. No, not the well-paid kind, the kind that solves problems. No, not that sort of problem; the ones like how many bricks it takes to make a wall sturdy. No, not a regular wall; a curved one. I don't know who wants a curved brick wall. Yes, I suppose he could just use rebar and mortar."

[f5ve]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Paterson

I'm sure they could barely contain their shame. The man was a computer scientist before anyone bothered to string those two words together. He was literally a pioneer in the field. Or did you mean to denigrate generally all people who pursue their passion at their own expense?

[trhr]

That's cool. At some point, he was an awkward nerd who wouldn't stop talking about his dissertation. And no matter how many Turing Awards you win, your parents will still never understand what you do.