[On Cantor's work:] The finest product of mathematical genius and one of the supreme achievements of purely intellectual human activity. — David Hilbert Copy Share Image
Who of us would not be glad to lift the veil behind which the future lies hidden; to cast a glance at… — David Hilbert Copy Share Image
How thoroughly it is ingrained in mathematical science that every real advance goes hand in hand with the invention of sharper tools… — David Hilbert Copy Share Image
A mathematical theory is not to be considered complete until you have made it so clear that you can explain it to… — David Hilbert Copy Share Image
I have tried to avoid long numerical computations, thereby following Riemann's postulate that proofs should be given through ideas and not voluminous… — David Hilbert Copy Share Image
The further a mathematical theory is developed, the more harmoniously and uniformly does its construction proceed, and unsuspected relations are disclosed between… — David Hilbert Copy Share Image
Mathematical science is in my opinion an indivisible whole, an organism whose vitality is conditioned upon the connection of its parts. — David Hilbert Copy Share Image
A mathematical problem should be difficult in order to entice us, yet not completely inaccessible, lest it mock at our efforts. It… — David Hilbert Copy Share Image
We do not master a scientific theory until we have shelled and completely prised free its mathematical kernel. — David Hilbert Copy Share Image
Mathematics is a presuppositionless science. To found it I do not need God, as does Kronecker, or the assumption of a special… — David Hilbert Copy Share Image
Every mathematical discipline goes through three periods of development: the naive, the formal, and the critical. — David Hilbert Copy Share Image
An old French mathematician said: "A mathematical theory is not to be considered complete until you have made it so clear that… — David Hilbert Copy Share Image
[On Cantor's work:] The finest product of mathematical genius and one of the supreme achievements of purely intellectual human activity. — David Hilbert Copy Share Image
Who of us would not be glad to lift the veil behind which the future lies hidden; to cast a glance at the next… — David Hilbert Copy Share Image
How thoroughly it is ingrained in mathematical science that every real advance goes hand in hand with the invention of sharper tools and simpler… — David Hilbert Copy Share Image
Galileo was no idiot. Only an idiot could believe that science requires martyrdom - that may be necessary in religion, but in time a… — David Hilbert Copy Share Image
If I were to awaken after having slept for a thousand years, my first question would be: Has the Riemann hypothesis been proven? — David Hilbert Copy Share Image
Geometry, like arithmetic, requires for its logical development only a small number of simple, fundamental principles. These fundamental principles are called the axioms of… — David Hilbert Copy Share Image
A mathematical theory is not to be considered complete until you have made it so clear that you can explain it to the first… — David Hilbert Copy Share Image
Besides it is an error to believe that rigour is the enemy of simplicity. On the contrary we find it confirmed by numerous examples… — David Hilbert Copy Share Image
Is mathematics doomed to suffer the same fate as other sciences that have split into separate branches?... Mathematics is, in my opinion, an indivisible… — David Hilbert Copy Share Image
One must be able to say at all times--instead of points, straight lines, and planes--tables, chairs, and beer mugs — David Hilbert Copy Share Image
I have tried to avoid long numerical computations, thereby following Riemann's postulate that proofs should be given through ideas and not voluminous computations. — David Hilbert Copy Share Image