People think they don’t understand math, but it’s all about how you explain it to them. If you ask a drunkard what number is larger, 2/3 or 3/5, he won’t be able to tell you. But if you rephrase the… — Israel Gelfand Copy Share Image
They have the idea that non-commutative algebra should remind one of commutative algebra, but the former is more sophisticated. I believe that non-commutative algebra… — Israel Gelfand Copy Share Image
The older I get, the more I believe that at the bottom of most deep mathematical problems there is a combinatorial problem. — Israel Gelfand Copy Share Image
In the Middle Age, in Germany, if you wanted to learn addition and multiplication, you could go to any university. But if you wanted… — Israel Gelfand Copy Share Image
Eugene Wigner wrote a famous essay on the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in natural sciences. He meant physics, of course. There is only one… — Israel Gelfand Copy Share Image
One of the reasons we don't do as well as we should is that we are all over-taught. — Israel Gelfand Copy Share Image
People think they don’t understand math, but it’s all about how you explain it to them. If you ask a drunkard what number is… — Israel Gelfand Copy Share Image
I used to say: "Everything is Representation Theory". Now I say: "Nothing is Representation Theory". — Israel Gelfand Copy Share Image
People (or students) do not have shortcomings, only uniquenesses. The goal of a good teacher is to turn these uniquenesses into advantages. — Israel Gelfand Copy Share Image
My life may be encapsulated by one of Graham Greene's "entertainments" titles: 'Loser Takes All'. Since I was thrown out of highschool for political… — Israel Gelfand Copy Share Image
My seminar is for highschool students, decent undergraduates, bright graduates, and outstanding professors. — Israel Gelfand Copy Share Image
... The approach of von Neumann and Connes to the use of non-commutative algebra in physics is naive, the situation is much more complicated. — Israel Gelfand Copy Share Image
