Note: As put forth by Prof. Ian Stewart in his Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities
All the people listed below — except one — either started a degree (or joint degree) in mathematics, or studied under famous mathematicians, or were professional mathematicians in their other life. What are they famous for? Which person does not belong to the list?
Pierre Boulez
Sergey Brin
Lewis Carroll
J. M. Coetzee
Alberto Fujimori
Art Garfunkel
Philip Grass
Teri Hatcher
Edmund Husserl
Michael Jordan
Theodore Kaczzyski
John Maynard Keynes
Carole King
Emanuel Lasker
J P Morgan
Larry Niven
Alexander Solzhhenitsyn
Bram Stoker
Leon Trotsky
Eamon de Valera
Carol Vorderman
Virginia Wade
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Sir Christopher Wren
Also, check whether all of them did just pure math or applied math? If they worked as applied mathematicians, you too can choose pure math as a professional career. Digressing:
We are living in a world immersed in science and technology — we use mathematical ideas or inventions based on mathematical concepts — like bar codes; cellular telephony; secure communications (to secure digital financial transactions); fuzzy logic in washing machines and refrigerators; weather prediction; design of airplanes/aircrafts and cars, etc. If you wish, you can google these words/applications, and find out what type of math they need or use.
More later,
Nalin Pithwa
Mathematics Hothouse 