Thursday, October 18, 2007

The Beauty in Mathematics

This was one of those days when I found something so impressive that I had to stop my random surfing. I found a clipping made by AndreaJoRush who had added herself to my followers in clipmarks.

clipped from math.furman.edu

poisson.gif (18515 bytes)

"Life is good for only two things, discovering mathematics and
teaching mathematics"--Siméon Poisson


My thoughts exactly. I discovered the beauty in mathematics when I was 15. After that my goal was to study it without exactly knowing what I was going to be. I could say that totally coincidentally I ended up teaching in the best school possible: the school for adults who know why studying is important. Since I work late in the evening I am now able to study again. It is even more magical now than when I was young.

clipped from math.furman.edu

Galois, Evariste

Unfortunately what is little recognized is that the most worthwhile
scientific books are those in which the author clearly indicates what he
does not know; for an author most hurts his readers by concealing difficulties

If there weren't those authors, mathematics would not have developed.

clipped from math.furman.edu
Edwards, Jonathon

When I am violently beset with temptations, or cannot rid myself of evil thoughts, [I resolve] to do some Arithmetic, or Geometry, or some other study, which necessarily engages all my thoughts, and unavoidably keeps them from wandering

I do the same. I just use puzzles to calm myself. Picture puzzles give the amazing feeling of accomplishing something beautiful.

Egrafov, M.

If you ask mathematicians what they do, yo always get the same answer.
They think. They think about difficult and unusual problems.

This is why there are legends about absent-minded professors. Concentrating on problems keeps their mind from noticing anything else. To me the most intruiging fact has always been the unusuality. Many discoveries originate from problems which seem totally irrelevant to other people.

Einstein, Albert (1879-1955)


How can it be that mathematics, being after all a product of human thought
independent of experience, is so admirably adapted to the objects of reality?

Again one fact showing how wonderful mathematics can be.


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