19 September 2017

On Equations I: Nature I (Unsourced)

”An equation for me has no meaning unless it expresses a thought of God.” (Srinivasa Ramanujan)

“Mathematics is not about numbers, equations, computations, or algorithms: it is about understanding." (William P Thurston)

"Our sunsets have been reduced to wavelengths and frequencies. The complexities of the universe have been shredded into mathematical equations. Even our self-worth as human beings has been destroyed." (Dan Brown)

“The business of concrete mathematics is to discover the equations which express the mathematical laws of the phenomenon under consideration; and these equations are the starting-point of the calculus, which must obtain from them certain quantities by means of others.” (Auguste Comte)

"The equations that really work in describing nature with the most generality and the greatest simplicity are very elegant and subtle." (Edward Witten)

“The way physics explains Nature is to speak in terms of the consequences of a few very basic equations.” (Ekkehard Peik)

“This is often the way it is in physics - our mistake is not that we take our theories too seriously, but that we do not take them seriously enough. It is always hard to realize that these numbers and equations we play with at our desks have something to do with the real world." (Heinrich Hertz)

"To most outsiders, modern mathematics is unknown territory.  Its borders are protected by dense thickets of technical terms; its landscapes are a mass of indecipherable equations and incomprehensible concepts.  Few realize that the world of modern mathematics is rich with vivid images and provocative ideas.” (Ivars Peterson)

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