24 quotes
Mathemagical mathematics combines the beauty of mathematical structure with the entertainment value of a trick.
There is still a difference between something and nothing, but it is purely geometrical and there is nothing behind the geometry.
The Mathematical Magic Show (1978)
In many cases a dull proof can be supplemented by a geometric analogue so simple and beautiful that the truth of a theorem is almost seen at a glance.
Although Lewis Carroll thought of The Hunting of the Snark as a nonsense ballad for children, it is hard to imagine—in fact one shudders to imagine—a child of today reading and enjoying it.
The Annotated Snark (1962)
As I have often said, electrons and gerbils don't cheat. People do.
A surprising proportion of mathematicians are accomplished musicians. Is it because music and mathematics share patterns that are beautiful?
I can say this. I believe that the human mind, or even the mind of a cat, is more interesting in its complexity than an entire galaxy if it is devoid of life.
Mathematical magic combines the beauty of mathematical structure with the entertainment value of a trick.
This confusion of the certainty of mathematics within a formal system and the uncertainty of its applications to the world is a common mistake often made by ignorant sociologists.
Did Adam and Eve Have Navels?: Debunking Pseudoscience (2001)
For reasons that reflect popular ignorance of science, combined with a love of miracles, the notion that fresh eggs balance more easily on the first day of spring caught fire in the United States.
Did Adam and Eve Have Navels?: Debunking Pseudoscience (2001)
The King James Bible is a literary masterpiece best left unaltered. It is a classic to put on a shelf alongside the great fantasies of Homer, Virgil, Dante, Milton, and yes, even the Koran.
Did Adam and Eve Have Navels?: Debunking Pseudoscience (2001)
In the special theory of relativity, the speed of light becomes... a new absolute. ...Regardless of the motion of its source, light always moves through space with the same constant speed.
Relativity Simply Explained (1962)
Lorentz made an important addition to his original theory. He introduced changes in time. Clocks, he said, would be slowed down by the ether wind, and in just such a way as to make the velocity of light always measure 299,800 meters per second.
Relativity Simply Explained (1962)
Debunking bad science should be constant obligation of the science community, even if it takes time away from serious research or seems to be a losing battle. One takes comfort from the fact there is no Gresham's laws in science. In the long run, good science drives out bad.
The Night Is Large (1996)
The greatest scandal of the century in American psychiatry … is the growing mania among thousands of inept therapists, family counselors, and social workers for arousing false memories of childhoood sexual abuse.
I've always felt that a teacher can introduce recreational math; and I'm defining it in the very broad sense to include anything that has a spirit of play about it. I don't know of any better way to hook the interests of the students.
My attack on Freud brought a raft of angry letters from dedicated Freudians. One reader assured me that Freudianism is “alive and well.” True, but alive and well only among a dwindling remnant of Freud acolytes, not among the majority of today’s psychiatrists or intellectuals.
Did Adam and Eve Have Navels?: Debunking Pseudoscience (2001)
The element of play, which makes recreational mathematics recreational, may take many forms: a puzzle to be solved, a competitive game, a magic trick, paradox, fallacy, or simply mathematics with any sort of curious or amusing fillip.
The Scientific American Book of Mathematical Puzzles & Diversions (1959)
Biographical history, as taught in our public schools, is still largely a history of boneheads: ridiculous kings and queens, paranoid political leaders, compulsive voyagers, ignorant generals — the flotsam and jetsam of historical currents. The men who radically altered history, the great scientists and mathematicians, are seldom mentioned, if at all.
But that science moves inexorably closer to finding objective truth can only be denied by peculiar philosophers, naive literary critics, and misguided social scientists. The fantastic success of science in explaining and predicting, above all in making incredible advances in technology, is proof that scientists are steadily learning more and more about how the universe behaves.
Did Adam and Eve Have Navels?: Debunking Pseudoscience (2001)