Mathematics is among the most specialized of human talents.

Evidence

It is usual to exaggerate rather grossly the differences between the mental processes of mathematicians and other people, but it is undeniable that a gift for mathematics is one of the most specialized talents, and that mathematicians as a class are not particularly distinguished for general ability or versatility. If a man is in any sense a real mathematician, then it is a hundred to one that his mathematics will be far better than anything else he can do, and that he would be silly if he surrendered any decent opportunity of exercising his one talent in order to do undistinguished work in other fields. — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 140

Categorization

• XREF: Directly reverses the popular stereotype of mathematicians as universally brilliant; Hardy insists they excel at one thing only — relevant to the reader tracking how Hardy uses math culture to ground his apology. — connects to: Permanent creations like geometrical theorems exceed ordinary human powers — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 153; Mathematical facts are true independently of human thought — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 264
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 140

Broader Connections

• Permanent creations like geometrical theorems exceed ordinary human powers #corroborates (0.75) — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 153
• Mathematical facts are true independently of human thought #corroborates (0.60) — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 264