Escapes

Of all escapes from reality, mathematics is the most succesful ever. It is a fantasy that becomes all the more addictive because it works back to improve the same reality we are trying to evade. All other escapes -sex, drugs, hobbies, whatever- are ephemeral by comparison. The mathematician`s feeling of triumph, as he forces the world to obey the laws of his imagination has freely created, feeds on its own success. The world is permanently changed bye the workings of his mind and the certainty that his creations will edure renews his confidence as no other pursuit. The mathematician becomes totally commited, a monster, like Nabokov`s chess player who eventually sees all life as subordinate to the game of chess.

(Gian-Carlo Rota, Indiscrete Thoghts)