Math Is Fun Forum

soha

Real Member

Registered: 2006-07-07

Posts: 2,530

definations related to mathematics:-

I did not invent these, just collected it

Mathematics is made of 50 percent formulas, 50 percent proofs, and 50 percent imagination. 

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"A mathematician is a device for turning coffee into theorems" (P. Erdos)
Addendum: American coffee is good for lemmas. 

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An engineer thinks that his equations are an approximation to reality. A physicist thinks reality is an approximation to his equations. A mathematician doesn't care. 

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Old mathematicians never die; they just lose some of their functions. 

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Mathematicians are like Frenchmen: whatever you say to them, they translate it into their own language, and forthwith it means something entirely different. -- Goethe 

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Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things. -- J. H. Poincare

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What is a rigorous definition of rigor? 

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There is no logical foundation of mathematics, and Gödel has proved it! 

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I do not think -- therefore I am not.

Here is the illustration of this principle:
One evening Rene Descartes went to relax at a local tavern. The tender approached and said, "Ah, good evening Monsieur Descartes! Shall I serve you the usual drink?". Descartes replied, "I think not.", and promptly vanished. 

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A topologist is a person who doesn't know the difference between a coffee cup and a doughnut. 

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A mathematician is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat which isn't there. (Charles R Darwin)

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A statistician is someone who is good with numbers but lacks the personality to be an accountant.

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Classification of mathematical problems as linear and nonlinear is like classification of the Universe as bananas and non-bananas. 

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A law of conservation of difficulties: there is no easy way to prove a deep result. 

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A tragedy of mathematics is a beautiful conjecture ruined by an ugly fact.

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Algebraic symbols are used when you do not know what you are talking about. 

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Philosophy is a game with objectives and no rules.
Mathematics is a game with rules and no objectives. 

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Math is like love; a simple idea, but it can get complicated.

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"Let us realize that: the privilege to work is a gift, the power to work is a blessing, the love of work is success!"
- David O. McKay

Ubergeek

Member

Registered: 2009-07-14

Posts: 205

Re: definations related to mathematics:-

Classification of mathematical problems as linear and nonlinear is like classification of the Universe as bananas and non-bananas.

It's funny because it's true. :,)

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"Mathematics may be defined as the subject in which we never know what we are talking about, nor whether what we are saying is true."

Bertrand Russell

simron

Real Member

Registered: 2006-10-07

Posts: 237

Re: definations related to mathematics:-

"A mathematician is a device for turning coffee into theorems" (P. Erdos)
Addendum: American coffee is good for lemmas.

Heard a similar one saying that programmers are devices for turning caffeine into code. Good lines!

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Linux FTW