Quotessence
Home / Authors / Ian Stewart
Ian Stewart

Ian Stewart Quotes

Professor

Filter quotes by topic

AllMathematicsMathematicalMathematicianArtAestheticBeautyHumansIfsMathPatternsChaosDoneEcologyEducationEnoughEquationsGmoHappensHumanityIdeas

Famous Ian Stewart Quotes

“One of the biggest problems of mathematics is to explain to everyone else what it is all about. The technical trappings of the subject, its symbolism and formality, its baffling terminology, its apparent delight in lengthy calculations: these tend to obscure its real nature. A musician would be horrified if his art were to be summed up as "a lot of tadpoles drawn on a row of lines"; but that"s all that the untrained eye can see in a page of sheet music... In the same way, the symbolism of mathematics is merely its coded form, not its substance.”

IfsWayArtRealProblemWould BeEyeFormLinesSubjectsMusicianPagesMathematicsDelightMathSubstanceObscureSheetsCalculationsSymbolismTerminologyFormalityLengthyTadpolesSheet Music
Author:Ian Stewart
Create image

“I don't want to convince you that mathematics is useful. It is, but utility is not the only criterion for value to humanity. Above all, I want to convince you that mathematics is beautiful, surprising, enjoyable, and interesting. In fact, mathematics is the closest that we humans get to true magic. How else to describe the patterns in our heads that - by some mysterious agency - capture patterns of the universe around us? Mathematics connects ideas that otherwise seem totally unrelated, revealing deep similarities that subsequently show up in nature.”

WantHumansIdeasFactsShowsSeemsBeautifulValuesHumanityUniverseInterestingEducationMagicMathematicsPatternsMathMysteriousAgencyConvinceCaptureSurprisingClosestRevealingEnjoyableCriteriaUtilitySimilarity
Author:Ian Stewart
Create image

“Our teaching of mathematics revolves around a fundamental conflict. Rightly or wrongly, students are required to master a series of mathematical concepts and techniques, and anything that might divert them from doing so is deemed unnecessary. Putting mathematics into its cultural context, explaining what is has done for humanity, telling the story of its historical development, or pointing out the wealth of unsolved problems or even the existence of topics that do not make it into school textbooks leaves less time to prepare for the exam. So most of these things aren't discussed.”

DoneStoriesProblemMightSchoolHumanityWealthExistenceEducationTeachingStudentsMastersDevelopmentConflictConceptsMathematicsFundamentalsHistoricalSeriesMathTechniqueMathematicalUnnecessaryTopicsPointingExplainingTextbooksExamUnsolved Problems
Author:Ian Stewart
Create image