“I was reminded of the Sydney Harris cartoon that said 'adding two numbers that have not been added before does not constitute a mathematical breakthrough'.” DoeSaidTwoScienceNumbersMathematicsMathematicalCartoonBreakthroughSydney Author:Ronald Graham
“The standard model gives us an accuracy of ten decimal digits, this is an amazing success that has never been achieved before in science.” GivingScienceTenModelsStandardsMathematicsAccuracyDecimals Author:Nathan Seiberg
“Newton's theory is not 'not right', it just does not cover all distances. Contrary to popular belief, theories in science are not proven wrong, they are just replaced by more complete and convenient theories. To sound provocative, even the geocentric theory was never "proven" wrong, it is just not as convenient as the heliocentric theory, since it requires endless epicycles.” DoeScienceBeliefSoundTheoryMathematicsDistanceContraryEndlessReplacedProvenConvenientNewtonProvocativeContrary To Popular BeliefProven Wrong Author:Nathan Seiberg
“What will the greatest experiment discover? I have no idea!, maybe nothing!, If we won't check, we will never know. In science there is never a guarantee of success. If you understood this last sentence, then you understood the most important message of this lecture.” IfsKnowsImportantIdeasLastsScienceMessagesUnderstoodMathematicsSentencesExperimentsChecksNo IdeaGuaranteesLectures Author:Nathan Seiberg
“I am a professor at the computer science department, but I don't know how to use a computer, not even for Email.” KnowsUseScienceKnow HowComputerMathematicsDepartmentProfessorsEmailComputer Science Author:Endre Szemeredi
“You must all know about Bourgain, so I don't have to write his name on the board-for an obvious reason.” KnowsWritingReasonScienceNamesMathematicsObviousBoards Author:Endre Szemeredi
“Too much knowledge could be a bad thing. I was lead to the Szemerédi theorem by proving a result, about squares, that Euler had already proven, and I relied on an "obvious" fact, about arithmetical progressions, that was unproved at the time. But that lead me to try and prove that formerly unproved statement- about arithmetical progressions-and that ultimately lead to the Szemerédi Theorem.” TryingFactsScienceResultsToo MuchProveMathematicsObviousStatementsBad ThingsSquaresProvenProgressionLeading MeTheoremsEuler Author:Endre Szemeredi
“'You might think of combinatorics as a machine too', the major says. 'A different sort of machine, though. Have you heard of Babbage's analytic engine? He never built it. ... I have an analytic machine of my own-right here.' He taps his own skull.” ThinkingDifferentMightScienceMy OwnHeardMajorsBuiltMachinesMathematicsEnginesSkullsAnalytics Author:David Leavitt
“You are not supposed to get it. It's a paradox. All of mathematics is built on paradoxes. That's the biggest paradox of all-all this orderliness, and at the heart, impossibility. Contradiction. Heaven built on the foundations of hell.” HeartScienceHeavenHellBuiltMathematicsFoundationContradictionParadoxImpossibilityOrderliness Book:The Indian Clerk Source: The Indian Clerk
“It is cheaper to pay mathematicians and computer scientists to design algorithms that will eliminate webspamming, rather than to pay lawyers to do lawsuits.” SciencePayDesignComputerScientistMathematicsLawyerMathematicianCheaperAlgorithmsLawsuit Author:Jennifer Tour Chayes