Galton, Sir Francis (1822-1911)
I know of scarcely
anything so apt to
impress the
imagination as the
wonderful form of
cosmic order
expressed by the
"Law of Frequency of
Error." The law
would have been
personified by the
Greeks and deified,
if they had known of
it. It reigns with
serenity and in
complete
self-effacement,
amidst the wildest
confusion. The huger
the mob, and the
greater the apparent
anarchy, the more
perfect is its sway.
It is the supreme
law of Unreason.
Whenever a large
sample of chaotic
elements are taken
in hand and
marshaled in the
order of their
magnitude, an
unsuspected and most
beautiful form of
regularity proves to
have been latent all
along.
In J. R. Newman
(ed.), The World of
Mathematics, New
York: Simon and
Schuster, 1956. p.
1482.
Galton, Sir Francis (1822-1911)
[Statistics are] the only tools by which an opening can be cut through the formidable thicket of difficulties that bars the path of those who pursue the Science of Man.
Pearson, The Life and Labours of Francis Galton, 1914.
Galton, Sir Francis (1822-1911)
In J. R. Newman
(ed.), The World of
Mathematics, New
York: Simon and
Schuster, 1956.
Galois, Evariste
Unfortunately what
is little recognized
is that the most
worthwhile
scientific books are
those in which the
author clearly
indicates what he
does not know; for
an author most hurts
his readers by
concealing
difficulties.
In N. Rose (ed.),
Mathematical Maxims
and Minims, Raleigh
NC: Rome Press Inc.,
1988.
Galilei, Galileo (1564-1642)
And who can doubt
that it will lead to
the worst disorders
when minds created
free by God are
compelled to submit
slavishly to an
outside will? When
we are told to deny
our senses and
subject them to the
whim of others? When
people devoid of
whatsoever
competence are made
judges over experts
and are granted
authority to treat
them as they please?
These are the
novelties which are
apt to bring about
the ruin of
commonwealths and
the subversion of
the state.
[On
the margin of his
own copy of
Dialogue on the
Great World
Systems]
In J. R. Newman
(ed.), The World
of Mathematics,
New York: Simon and
Schuster, 1956, p.
733.
Galilei, Galileo (1564-1642)
Measure what is
measurable, and make
measurable what is
not so.
Quoted in H. Weyl,
"Mathematics and the
Laws of Nature" in
I. Gordon and S.
Sorkin (eds.), The
Armchair Science
Reader, New York:
Simon and Schuster,
1959.
Galilei, Galileo (1564-1642)
[The universe]
cannot be read until
we have learnt the
language and become
familiar with the
characters in which
it is written. It is
written in
mathematical
language, and the
letters are
triangles, circles
and other
geometrical figures,
without which means
it is humanly
impossible to
comprehend a single
word.
Opere Il Saggiatore,
p. 171.
Galbraith, John Kenneth
There can be no
question, however,
that prolonged
commitment to
mathematical
exercises in
economics can be
damaging. It leads
to the atrophy of
judgment and
intuition ...
Economics, Peace,
and Laughter.
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.
George Harrison
With every mistake
we must surely be
learning.
While My Guitar
Gently Weeps