"Observe, finally, that this induction is possible only if the same operation can be repeated indefinitely. That is why the theory of chess can never become a science: the different moves of the game do not resemble one another." (Henri Poincaré, "On the Nature of Mathematical Reasoning", 1894)
"Chess problems are the hymn-tunes of mathematics." (Godfrey H Hardy, "A Mathematician's Apology", 1940)
"I will say only that if a chess problem is, in the crude sense, 'useless', then that is equally true of most of the best mathematics; that very little of mathematics is useful practically, and that the little [that is] is comparatively dull." (Godfrey H Hardy, "A Mathematician's Apology", 1940)
"There are three intellectual pursuits, and, so far as I am aware, only three, in which human beings have performed major feats before the age of puberty. They are music, mathematics, and chess." (George Steiner, "Extraterritorial", 1971)
"Geniuses of certain kinds - mathematicians, chess
players, computer programmers - seem, if not mad, at least lacking in the
social skills most easily identified with sanity." (James Gleick, "Genius: the
life and science of Richard Feynman", 1992)
"Chess is not Mathematics, where ten is always more than
one; in chess the King with a pawn can beat opponent's King with all pieces if
they are placed badly." (Ashot Nadanian, [Interview at S'pore Chess News], 2010)
"Often the key contribution of intuition is to make us aware of weak points in a problem, places where it may be vulnerable to attack. A mathematical proof is like a battle, or if you prefer a less warlike metaphor, a game of chess. Once a potential weak point has been identified, the mathematician’s technical grasp of the machinery of mathematics can be brought to bear to exploit it." (Ian Stewart, "Visions of Infinity", 2013)
"Chess is the art that expresses the science of logic." (Mikhail Botvinnik)
"Every good mathematician should also be a good chess
player and vice versa." (Henri Poincaré)
"Mathematics, like chess, requires too direct and personal a confrontation to allow graceful defeat." (Alfred Adler)
No comments:
Post a Comment