I myself, a professional mathematician, on re-reading my…
“I myself, a professional mathematician, on re-reading my own work find it strains my mental powers to recall to mind from the figures the meanings of the demonstrations, meanings which I myself originally put into the figures and the text from my mind. But when I attempt to remedy the obscurity of the material by putting in extra words, I see myself falling into the opposite fault of becoming chatty in something mathematical.”
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
The author finds his own mathematical writings hard to understand later, and adding more words makes them overly verbose.
In simple terms: Hard to reread his own math; extra words cause verbosity.
Key Takeaway
Balance clarity with conciseness.
Themes
clarity
communication
mathematics
Mood
reflective
analytical
Type
philosophical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- academic writing
- self‑review
- teaching
- research documentation
Key Concepts
cognitive load
exposition
precision
Questions to Reflect On
- How can complex ideas be expressed clearly without excess?
- What strategies help retain meaning when revisiting one’s work?
A Different Perspective
Too much detail can obscure meaning, but too little can confuse readers.