Loci: Convergence
Mathematical Quotations
Our library of quotations is organized alphabetically by surname of the author.
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Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
All human knowledge
thus begins with
intuitions, proceeds
thence to concepts,
and ends with ideas.
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
The science of
mathematics presents
the most brilliant
example of how pure
reason may
successfully enlarge
its domain without
the aid of
experience.
Kaplan, Abraham
Mathematics is not yet capable of coping with the naivete of the mathematician himself.
Irving Kaplansky
We [he and Halmos]
share a philosophy
about linear
algebra: we think
basis-free, we write
basis-free, but when
the chips are down
we close the office
door and compute
with matrices like
fury.
Samuel Karlin (1924-2007)
The purpose of
models is not to fit
the data but to
sharpen the
questions.
Kasner and Newman
The testament of
science is so
continually in a
flux that the heresy
of yesterday is the
gospel of today and
the fundamentalism
of tomorrow.
Kasner and Newman
Perhaps the greatest
paradox of all is
that there are
paradoxes in
mathematics.
Kasner and Newman
When the
mathematician says
that such and such a
proposition is true
of one thing, it may
be interesting, and
it is surely safe.
But when he tries to
extend his
proposition to
everything, though
it is much more
interesting, it is
also much more
dangerous. In the
transition from one
to all, from the
specific to the
general, mathematics
has made its
greatest progress,
and suffered its
most serious
setbacks, of which
the logical
paradoxes constitute
the most important
part. For, if
mathematics is to
advance securely and
confidently it must
first set its
affairs in order at
home.
Kasner and Newman
Mathematics is often
erroneously referred
to as the science of
common sense.
Actually, it may
transcend common
sense and go beyond
either imagination
or intuition. It has
become a very
strange and perhaps
frightening subject
from the ordinary
point of view, but
anyone who
penetrates into it
will find a
veritable fairyland,
a fairyland which is
strange, but makes
sense, if not common
sense.
Kasner and Newman
Mathematics is the
science which uses
easy words for hard
ideas.
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