Based on a study about using original sources with Danish upper secondary students, the paper addresses the potential outcome of such an approach in regard to the so-called recruitment problem to the mathematical sciences. 24 students were exposed to questionnaire questions and 16 of these to follow-up interviews, which form the basis for both a small quantitative analysis and a more extensive qualitative elaboration of this. The study shows that the students felt able to either select of deselect mathematical sciences as part of their future studies on a more enlightened basis due to their encounter with original sources of mathematics. The paper also discusses further potential roles or original sources in mathematics education not usually addressed within the literature.