My answer to question on Quora: Why aren’t mathematicians more well known?

Well, this applies to every high-level specialism. Do you know many designers of new electronics? Or neurosurgeons?

This is a very uncomfortable social issue: development of technology, and perhaps the survival (or not) of humanity — critically depends on work of a very small (in relation to the total population of the Earth), and increasingly so, number of people. Mathematics is everywhere around us, but it is totally invisible to 99.99% percents of its users. Mathematics hardwired into a mobile phone ( I am not even talking about smartphones) and in mobile phones networks is beyond understanding of 99% of graduates from mathematics departments of British universities — and now there are more mobile phones in the world than toothbrushes.