I am trying to deconstruct the elitism of mathematics and liked this question from @chaoskeeper11
Why is it that people who make art are artists and people who write are writers, but only university math PhDs are mathematicians?pic.twitter.com/09HLgSV5YT
Many eminent mathematicians have lacked PhDs. Andrew Gleason is a prominent recent example. But to be recognized as a mathematician one must either attain some interesting new result, or demonstrate the depth and seriousness of one's knowledge of and commitment to the art.