Comment by socializer

> There's a reason there are maybe a few hundred professional marathon runners in the world vs tens of thousands of professional mathematicians.

I don't buy this. I think there are other reasons why "professional marathon running" is a niche thing; it's probably just that it's not all that interesting to most people to practice in function of what it demands of your body, and not that interesting to patronize / watch.

Take woodworkers. There's probably more professional woodworkers than professional mathematicians. In terms of utility, everything a woodworker does, a machine can do more cheaply and more quickly. The main reason the craft survives is just that we attach intrinsic value to furniture made by humans the old-fashioned way. This is shared by craftsmen and those who buy.

And you could argue the same thing you did for marathon runners: custom furniture is just amusement for well-off people. Sure, but there's enough people with money to keep it afloat.