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Quote by Gian-Carlo Rota

“Mathematicians - for what they do - are really poorly rewarded. And it's a very competitive field, almost as bad as being a concert pianist.”

Author

Gian-Carlo Rota

Gian-Carlo Rota was an Italian-American mathematician renowned for his contributions to combinatorics, algebraic geometry, and mathematical analysis. He served as a professor at MIT and Harvard University, and his research had a substantial impact on the advancement of these mathematical disciplines. more

“Mathematicians also make terrible salesmen. Physicists can discover the same thing as a mathematician and say 'We've discovered a great new law of nature. Give us a billion dollars.' And if it doesn't change the world, then they say, 'There's an even deeper thing. Give us another billion dollars.'”

Ifs World Giving Law Terrible Dollars Deeper Billions Changing The World Mathematician Physicist Laws Of Nature Salesman

Author:Gian-Carlo Rota

“Among mathematicians in general, three main categories may be distinguished; and perhaps the names logicians, formalists, and intuitionists may serve to characterize them.”

May Three Names Categories Mathematician Distinguished

Book:The Evanston Colloquium: Lectures on Mathematics Delivered from Aug. 28 to Sept. 9, 1893 Before Members of the Congress of Mathematics Held in Connection with the World's Fair in Chicago at Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill

Source: The Evanston Colloquium: Lectures on Mathematics Delivered from Aug. 28 to Sept. 9, 1893 Before Members of the Congress of Mathematics Held in Connection with the World's Fair in Chicago at Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill

“Our faith in Mathematics is not likely to wane if we openly acknowledge that the personalities of even the greatest mathematicians may be as flawed as those of anyone else.”

Ifs May Personality Mathematics Acknowledge Mathematician Flawed

Book:Indiscrete Thoughts

Source: Indiscrete Thoughts

“We mathematicians are used to the fact that our subject is widely misunderstood, perhaps more than any other subject (except perhaps linguistics).”

Facts Used Subjects Mathematician Misunderstood Linguistics

Author:Keith Devlin

“I am opposed to textbooks... I find it hateful to give a course where I have to plough my way through chapter after chapter of a given book. The liveliness of the lecture, which is meant to give an impetus to the sudents, would suffer tremendously.”

Way Giving Book Suffering Courses Given My Way Chapters Lectures Hateful Textbooks Impetus

Book:Collected Papers

Source: Collected Papers

“The completion of a rigorous course in mathematics - it is not even necessary that the student does well in such a course - appears to be an excellent means of sharpening the mind and developing mental skills that are of general benefit.”