Loci: Convergence
Mathematical Quotations
Our library of quotations is organized alphabetically by surname of the author.
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Galbraith, John Kenneth
There can be no
question, however,
that prolonged
commitment to
mathematical
exercises in
economics can be
damaging. It leads
to the atrophy of
judgment and
intuition ...
Galilei, Galileo (1564-1642)
And who can doubt
that it will lead to
the worst disorders
when minds created
free by God are
compelled to submit
slavishly to an
outside will? When
we are told to deny
our senses and
subject them to the
whim of others? When
people devoid of
whatsoever
competence are made
judges over experts
and are granted
authority to treat
them as they please?
These are the
novelties which are
apt to bring about
the ruin of
commonwealths and
the subversion of
the state.
[On
the margin of his
own copy of
Dialogue on the
Great World
Systems]
Galilei, Galileo (1564-1642)
Measure what is
measurable, and make
measurable what is
not so.
Galilei, Galileo (1564-1642)
[The universe]
cannot be read until
we have learnt the
language and become
familiar with the
characters in which
it is written. It is
written in
mathematical
language, and the
letters are
triangles, circles
and other
geometrical figures,
without which means
it is humanly
impossible to
comprehend a single
word.
Galois, Evariste
Unfortunately what
is little recognized
is that the most
worthwhile
scientific books are
those in which the
author clearly
indicates what he
does not know; for
an author most hurts
his readers by
concealing
difficulties.
Galton, Sir Francis (1822-1911)
I know of scarcely
anything so apt to
impress the
imagination as the
wonderful form of
cosmic order
expressed by the
"Law of Frequency of
Error." The law
would have been
personified by the
Greeks and deified,
if they had known of
it. It reigns with
serenity and in
complete
self-effacement,
amidst the wildest
confusion. The huger
the mob, and the
greater the apparent
anarchy, the more
perfect is its sway.
It is the supreme
law of Unreason.
Whenever a large
sample of chaotic
elements are taken
in hand and
marshaled in the
order of their
magnitude, an
unsuspected and most
beautiful form of
regularity proves to
have been latent all
along.
Galton, Sir Francis (1822-1911)
[Statistics are] the only tools by which an opening can be cut through the formidable thicket of difficulties that bars the path of those who pursue the Science of Man.
Galton, Sir Francis (1822-1911)
Whenever you can,
count.
Gardner, Martin
Mathematics is not
only real, but it is
the only reality.
[The] entire
universe is made of
matter, obviously.
And matter is made
of particles. It's
made of electrons
and neutrons and
protons. So the
entire universe is
made out of
particles. Now what
are the particles
made out of? They're
not made out of
anything. The only
thing you can say
about the reality of
an electron is to
cite its
mathematical
properties. So
there's a sense in
which matter has
completely dissolved
and what is left is
just a mathematical
structure.
Gardner, Martin
Biographical
history, as taught
in our public
schools, is still
largely a history of
boneheads:
ridiculous kings and
queens, paranoid
political leaders,
compulsive voyagers,
ignorant generals --
the flotsam and
jetsam of historical
currents. The men
who radically
altered history, the
great scientists and
mathematicians, are
seldom mentioned, if
at all.
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