- The last level of metaphor in the Alice books is this: that life, viewed rationally and without illusion, appears to be a nonsense tale told by an idiot mathematician.
- In no other branch of mathematics is it so easy for experts to blunder as in probability theory.
- If God creates a world of particles and waves, dancing in obedience to mathematical and physical laws, who are we to say that he cannot make use of those laws to cover the surface of a small planet with living creatures?
- All mathematicians share… a sense of amazement over the infinite depth and the mysterious beauty and usefulness of mathematics.
- The sudden hunch, the creative leap of mind that “sees” in a flash how to solve a problem in a simple way, is something quite different from general intelligence.
- A surprising proportion of mathematicians are accomplished musicians. Is it because music and mathematics share patterns that are beautiful?
- One would be hard put to find a set of whole numbers with a more fascinating history and more elegant properties surrounded by greater depths of mystery–and more totally useless–than the perfect numbers.
- In many cases a dull proof can be supplemented by a geometric analogue so simple and beautiful that the truth of a theorem is almost seen at a glance.
- Modern science should indeed arouse in all of us a humility before the immensity of the unexplored and a tolerance for crazy hypotheses.
- There is still a difference between something and nothing, but it is purely geometrical and there is nothing behind the geometry.
10 inspirational martin gardner quotes on success
