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… there is no scorn more profound, or on the whole more justifiable, than that of the men who make for the men who explain. Exposition, criticism, appreciation, is work for second-rate minds.

— G. H. Hardy A Mathematician's Apology (1941)

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More quotes by G. H. Hardy

A mathematician, like a painter or a poet, is a maker of patterns. If his patterns are more permanent than theirs, it is because they are made with ideas.

A Mathematician's Apology (1941)

If I knew I was going to die today, I think I should still want to hear the cricket scores.

A mathematician, like a painter or poet, is a maker of patterns. If his patterns are more permanent than theirs, it is because they are made with ideas.

Chess problems are the hymn-tunes of mathematics.

A Mathematician's Apology (1941)

If a man has any genuine talent, he should be ready to make almost any sacrifice in order to cultivate it to the full.

A Mathematician's Apology (1941)

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