|
Random Quotation
[To son Janos:] In P. Davis and R. Hersh, The Mathematical Experience, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1981, p. 220.    |
Loci: ConvergenceMathematical QuotationsOur library of quotations is organized alphabetically by surname of the author. Page: 1 of 6 | Next Eddington, Sir Arthur (1882-1944)Human life is proverbially uncertain; few things are more certain than the solvency of a life-insurance company. Eddington, Sir Arthur (1882-1944)To the pure geometer the radius of curvature is an incidental characteristic - like the grin of the Cheshire cat. To the physicist it is an indispensable characteristic. It would be going too far to say that to the physicist the cat is merely incidental to the grin. Physics is concerned with interrelatedness such as the interrelatedness of cats and grins. In this case the "cat without a grin" and the "grin without a cat" are equally set aside as purely mathematical phantasies. Eddington, Sir Arthur (1882-1944)I believe there are 15,747,724,136,275, 002,577,605,653,961, 181,555,468,044,717, 914,527,116,709,366, 231,425,076,185,631, 031,296 protons in the universe and the same number of electrons. Eddington, Sir Arthur (1882-1944)It is impossible to trap modern physics into predicting anything with perfect determinism because it deals with probabilities from the outset. Eddington, Sir Arthur (1882-1944)We have found a strange footprint on the shores of the unknown. We have devised profound theories, one after another, to account for its origins. At last, we have succeeded in reconstructing the creature that made the footprint. And lo! It is our own. Eddington, Sir Arthur (1882-1944)We used to think that if we knew one, we knew two, because one and one are two. We are finding that we must learn a great deal more about `and'. Eddington, Sir Arthur (1882-1944)Proof is the idol before whom the pure mathematician tortures himself. Edwards, Jonathan (1703-1758)When I am violently beset with temptations, or cannot rid myself of evil thoughts, [I resolve] to do some Arithmetic, or Geometry, or some other study, which necessarily engages all my thoughts, and unavoidably keeps them from wandering. Egrafov, M.If you ask mathematicians what they do, you always get the same answer. They think. They think about difficult and unusual problems. They do not think about ordinary problems: they just write down the answers. Eigen, Manfred (1927 - )A theory has only the alternative of being right or wrong. A model has a third possibility: it may be right, but irrelevant. Page: 1 of 6 | Next |
