What Is It Indeed That

Mathematics Is The Art Of Giving The Same Name To Different Things.

One Would Have To Have Completely Forgotten The History Of Science So As To Not Remember That The Desire To Know Nature Has Had The Most Constant And The Happiest Influence On The Development Of Mathematics.

Often When Works At A Hard Question, Nothing Good Is Accomplished At The First Attack. Then One Takes A Rest, Long Or Short, And Sits Down Anew To The Work. During The First Half-hour, As Before, Nothing Is Found, And Then All Of A Sudden The Decisive Idea Presents Itself To The Mind.

Thought Must Never Submit, Neither To A Dogma, Nor To A Party, Nor To A Passion, Nor To An Interest, Nor To A Preconceived Idea, Nor To Whatever It May Be, Save To The Facts Themselves, Because, For Thought, Submission Would Mean Ceasing To Be.

It Is A Misfortune For A Science To Be Born Too Late When The Means Of Observation Have Become Too Perfect. That Is What Is Happening At This Moment With Respect To Physical Chemistry; The Founders Are Hampered In Their General Grasp By Third And Fourth Decimal Places.