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Gian-Carlo Rota on Mathematics

1932–1999 Italy

← All quotes by Gian-Carlo Rota

2 quotes

God created infinity, and man, unable to understand infinity, had to invent finite sets.

Mathematics is the study of analogies between analogies. All science is. Scientists want to show that things that don't look alike are really the same. That is one of their innermost Freudian motivations. In fact, that is what we mean by understanding.

Indiscrete Thoughts (2008)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Gian-Carlo Rota (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.