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But what, after all, are the integers? Everyone thinks that he or she knows, for example, what the number three is — until he or she tries to define or explain it.

— Carl Benjamin Boyer Everything and More: A Compact History of Infinity (2013)

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More quotes by Carl Benjamin Boyer

The Introductio does not boast an impressive number of editions, yet its influence was pervasive.

Ptolemy left in his Optics, the earliest surviving table of angles of refraction from air to water.

The Rainbow: From Myth to Mathematics (1959)

In myth and legend the rainbow has been regarded variously as a harbinger of misfortune and as a sign of good luck.

The Rainbow: From Myth to Mathematics (1959)

The conception of the rainbow as a pathway or bridge has been widespread.

The Rainbow: From Myth to Mathematics (1959)

In Swabia and Bavaria saints pass by the rainbow from heaven to earth; while in Polynesia this is the route of the gods themselves.

The Rainbow: From Myth to Mathematics (1959)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Carl Benjamin Boyer (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.