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Why did Archimedes prefer theoretical work over practical inventions?

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Portrait of Archimedes by Giuseppe Nogari shows an elderly man with white hair and beard, holding a compass, gazing downward, set against a dark background. — Archimedes Archimedes, oil on canvas by Giuseppe Nogari, 18th century; in the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum, Moscow. Archimedes was an ancient Greek mathematician and inventor.

According to the historian Plutarch, Archimedes held a low opinion of the practical invention and mechanical work for which he was famous during his lifetime. Because he viewed these pursuits as inferior, he did not leave behind any written works detailing his inventions. Instead, he focused his writings on theoretical subjects, such as pure mathematics, theoretical mechanics, and hydrostatics.1

While Archimedes prioritized theoretical rigor in his formal publications, his interest in mechanics remained deeply intertwined with his mathematical process. His treatise Method Concerning Mechanical Theorems reveals that he frequently used mechanical reasoning as a heuristic tool to discover new mathematical theorems, even though he relied on traditional, rigorous geometric methods for his final proofs.12