“Mystery is an inescapable ingredient of mathematics. Mathematics is full of unanswered questions, which far outnumber known theorems and results. It's the nature of mathematics to pose more problems than it can solve. Indeed, mathematics itself may be built on small islands of truth comprising the pieces of mathematics that can be validated by relatively short proofs. All else is speculation.” MayProblemResultsKnownPiecesMysteryBuiltLogicMathematicsSolveProofCertaintyUncertaintyIslandsReasoningIngredientsSpeculationOntologyTheoremsUnanswered QuestionsUnanswered Author:Ivars Peterson
“The winds were blowing from west to east, pushing Abby's boat toward the rocks as Abby struggled with the autopilots below. If Wild Eyes reached those islands, she wouldn't run aground, keel in the sand. She would be smashed into pieces.” IfsWould BeEyeRunningPiecesRocksWindWestEastBoatIslandsSandPushingAbbyKeelAutopilotWild Eyes Book:Unsinkable: A Young Woman's Courageous Battle on the High Seas Source: Unsinkable: A Young Woman's Courageous Battle on the High Seas
“An island is a fixed and finite piece of geography, and usually the whole place has been carved up and claimed.” Has BeensWholePiecesFixedIslandsFiniteGeography Author:Paul Theroux
“Lincoln Chafee, former governor of Rhode Island, announced he's running for president. Before he announced he's running, his wife went on Facebook and asked his staff if they remembered his password. Because if a Facebook password is too hard to remember, the launch codes for the nukes should be a piece of cake.” IfsShouldHardRunningRememberPresidentPiecesWifeFormerCodeRememberedIslandsCakeGovernorsStaffPasswordsNukesRhode Island Author:Jimmy Fallon
“If somebody writes a review of a dry cleaner, that piece of content is not wildly viral. It's not like a viral video that can spread across the world in a matter of minutes, so as a result, each market is almost an island unto itself.” IfsWorldWritingMatterResultsPiecesMinutesSpreadVideoIslandsDryReviewsCleanersViralDry CleanersViral Videos Author:Jeremy Stoppelman
“I am very attracted by the mysterious landscape of Easter Island. Not only because it is a piece of land that is further away from another, but also because of the beautiful statues of Moai that are there. To do a beautiful walk there, I would have to involve the Moai, and the Rapa Nui people who live on the island.” PeopleBeautifulWalksPiecesLandMysteriousLandscapeIslandsEasterStatuesEaster Island Author:Philippe Petit
“There's a different kind of comfort that comes from knowing that you are putting your best foot forward. It's called psychological comfort. Look at a picture of the Coney Island boardwalk in 1925. Men were in full-on three-piece suits, hats. They may have only had one suit. But they pressed it. They made it look as good as possible.” MenLooksKindMayMadeDifferentThreeKnowingPiecesFeetComfortPsychologicalSuitsMade ItIslandsHatsDifferent KindsBoardwalksConey Island Author:Tom Ford