Loci: Convergence
Mathematical Quotations
Our library of quotations is organized alphabetically by surname of the author.
Page: 1 of 5 | Next
LaGrange, Joseph-Louis
[Said about the
chemist
Lavoisier:] It
took the mob only a
moment to remove his
head; a century will
not suffice to
reproduce it.
LaGrange, Joseph-Louis
When we ask advice, we are usually looking for an accomplice.
LaGrange, Joseph-Louis
The reader will find no figures in this work. The methods which I set forth do not require either constructions or geometrical or mechanical reasonings: but only algebraic operations, subject to a regular and uniform rule of procedure.
Lakatos, Imre
That sometimes clear
... and sometimes
vague stuff ...
which is ...
mathematics.
Lanczos, Cornelius
Most of the arts, as
painting, sculpture,
and music, have
emotional appeal to
the general public.
This is because
these arts can be
experienced by some
one or more of our
senses. Such is not
true of the art of
mathematics; this
art can be
appreciated only by
mathematicians, and
to become a
mathematician
requires a long
period of intensive
training. The
community of
mathematicians is
similar to an
imaginary community
of musical composers
whose only
satisfaction is
obtained by the
interchange among
themselves of the
musical scores they
compose.
Landau, Susan
There's a touch of
the priesthood in
the academic world,
a sense that a
scholar should not
be distracted by the
mundane tasks of
day-to-day living. I
used to have great
stretches of time to
work. Now I have
research thoughts
while making peanut
butter and jelly
sandwiches. Sure
it's impossible to
write down ideas
while reading
"Curious George" to
a two-year-old. On
the other hand, as
my husband was
leaving graduate
school for his first
job, his thesis
advisor told him,
"You may wonder how
a professor gets any
research done when
one has to teach,
advise students,
serve on committees,
referee papers,
write letters of
recommendation,
interview
prospective faculty.
Well, I take long
showers."
Langer, Rudoph E.
[About Fourier:] It
was, no doubt,
partially because of
his very disregard
for rigor that he
was able to take
conceptual steps
which were
inherently
impossible to men of
more critical
genius.
Lao Tze (604-531 B.C.)
A good calculator
does not need
artificial aids.
le Lionnais, Francois
Who has not been
amazed to learn that
the function y = e^x
, like a phoenix
rising again from
its own ashes, is
its own derivative?
Leach, Edmund Ronald (1910 - 1989)
How can a modern
anthropologist
embark upon a
generalization with
any hope of arriving
at a satisfactory
conclusion? By
thinking of the
organizational ideas
that are present in
any society as a
mathematical
pattern.
Page: 1 of 5 | Next
|