Hertz, Heinrich
One cannot escape
the feeling that
these mathematical
formulas have an
independent
existence and an
intelligence of
their own, that they
are wiser than we
are, wiser even than
their discoverers,
that we get more out
of them than was
originally put into
them.
E. T. Bell, Men
of Mathematics,
New York, 1937.
Hermite, Charles (1822-1901)
We are servants rather than masters in mathematics.
In H. Eves Mathematical Circles Squared, Boston: Prindle, Weber and Schmidt, 1972.
Hermite, Charles (1822-1901)
Abel has left mathematicians enough to keep them busy for 500 years.
In G. F. Simmons Calculus Gems, New York: McGraw Hill Inc., 1992.
Hermite, Charles (1822 - 1901)
There exists, if I am not mistaken, an entire world which is the totality of mathematical truths, to which we have access only with our mind, just as a world of physical reality exists, the one like the other independent of ourselves, both of divine creation.
In The Mathematical Intelligencer, v. 5, no. 4.
Henkin, Leon
One of the big
misapprehensions
about mathematics
that we perpetrate
in our classrooms is
that the teacher
always seems to know
the answer to any
problem that is
discussed. This
gives students the
idea that there is a
book somewhere with
all the right
answers to all of
the interesting
questions, and that
teachers know those
answers. And if one
could get hold of
the book, one would
have everything
settled. That's so
unlike the true
nature of
mathematics.
L.A. Steen and D.J.
Albers (eds.),
Teaching
Teachers, Teaching
Students,
Boston: Birkhauser,
1981, p. 89.
Hempel, Carl G.
[T]o characterize
the import of pure
geometry, we might
use the standard
form of a
movie-disclaimer: No
portrayal of the
characteristics of
geometrical figures
or of the spatial
properties of
relationships of
actual bodies is
intended, and any
similarities between
the primitive
concepts and their
customary
geometrical
connotations are
purely coincidental.
"Geometry and
Empirical Science"
in J. R. Newman
(ed.), The World of
Mathematics, New
York: Simon and
Schuster, 1956.
Hempel, Carl G.
The most distinctive characteristic which differentiates mathematics from the various branches of empirical science, and which accounts for its fame as the queen of the sciences, is no doubt the peculiar certainty and necessity of its results.
"Geometry and Empirical Science" in J. R. Newman (ed.) The World of Mathematics, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1956.
Hempel, Carl G.
The propositions of mathematics have, therefore, the same unquestionable certainty which is typical of such propositions as "All bachelors are unmarried," but they also share the complete lack of empirical content which is associated with that certainty: The propositions of mathematics are devoid of all factual content; they convey no information whatever on any empirical subject matter.
"On the Nature of Mathematical Truth" in J. R. Newman (ed.) The World of Mathematics, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1956.
Heisenberg, Werner (1901-1976)
An expert is someone who knows some of the worst mistakes that can be made in his subject, and how to avoid them.
Physics and Beyond. 1971.
Heinlein, Robert A.
Anyone who cannot cope with mathematics is not fully human. At best he is a tolerable subhuman who has learned to wear shoes, bathe, and not make messes in the house.