Fortune Quote #1114

When a somewhat long argument leads us to a simple and striking result, we
are not satisfied until we have show that we could have foreseen, if not
the entire result, at least its principal features. -- Poincare

Fortune Quote #1113

Proof is an idol before whom the mathematician tortures himself.
-- Arthur Stanley Eddington

Fortune Quote #1112

There are three levels of understanding of a proof. The lowest is the
pleasant feeling of having grasped the argument; the second is the ability
to repeat it; and the third or top level is that of being able to refute
it. -- Karl Popper

Fortune Quote #1111

The supreme triumph of reason is to cast doubt on its own
validity. -- Miguel de Unamuno

Fortune Quote #1110

Reason's last step is the recognition that there are an infinite number of
things that are beyond it. -- Pascal

Fortune Quote #1109

Logic is the hygiene which the mathematician practices to keep his ideas
healthy and strong. -- Herman Weyl

Fortune Quote #1108

The good statistician... distrusts all figures. He either knows the
fellow who found them or he does not know him; in either case he is
suspicious. -- Peter F. Drucker, "The Effective Executive"

Fortune Quote #1107

An English mathematician was asked by his very religious colleague, "Do
you believe in one God?" His answer was "Yes, up to isomorphism!"

Fortune Quote #1106

Q: What's the contour integral around Western Europe? A: Zero, because all
the Poles are in Eastern Europe! [Actually, there ARE some Poles in
Western Europe, but they are removable.]

Fortune Quote #1105

Q: What lies on the bottom of the ocean and twitches? A: A nervous wreck.