--- title: "22 Mathematical Quotes By Alfred North Whitehead" description: "22 Mathematical quotes by Alfred North Whitehead. Plus more from Alfred North Whitehead and more Mathematical sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7e/alfred-north-whitehead-836_create_war-can-protect-it-cannot-create-1313944_1313944.png" --- > [War can protect; it cannot create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/war-can-protect-it-cannot-create/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7e/alfred-north-whitehead-836_create_war-can-protect-it-cannot-create-1313944_1313944.png) > [The study of mathematics is apt to commence in disappointment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-study-of-mathematics-is-apt-to-commence-in-disappointment/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/888/alfred-north-whitehead-836_disappointment_the-study-of-mathematics-is-apt-to-comme_2681588.png) > [No Roman ever died in contemplation over a geometrical diagram.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/no-roman-ever-died-in-contemplation-over-a-geometrical-diagram/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2b/alfred-north-whitehead-836_contemplation_no-roman-ever-died-in-contemplation-over_1958108.png) > [There is no nature at an instant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/there-is-no-nature-at-an-instant/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4c/alfred-north-whitehead-836_inspirational_there-is-no-nature-at-an-instant-1892209_1892209.png) > [Seek simplicity, and distrust it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/seek-simplicity-and-distrust-it/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/alfred-north-whitehead-836_creativity_seek-simplicity-and-distrust-it-2889365_2889365.png) > [The pursuit of mathematics is a divine madness of the human spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-pursuit-of-mathematics-is-a-divine-madness-of-the-human-spirit/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/alfred-north-whitehead-836_divine_the-pursuit-of-mathematics-is-a-divine-m_32034.png) > [You cannot evade quantity. You may fly to poetry and music, and quantity and number will face you in your rhythms and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/you-cannot-evade-quantity-you-may-fly-to-poetry-and-music-and/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/404/alfred-north-whitehead-836_faces_you-cannot-evade-quantity-you-may-fly-to_1653202.png) > [It is more important that a proposition be interesting than that it be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/it-is-more-important-that-a-proposition-be-interesting-than-that-it-2/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/alfred-north-whitehead-836_being-true_it-is-more-important-that-a-proposition_3047395.png) > [It is a safe rule to apply that, when a mathematical or philosophical author writes with a misty profundity, he is talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/it-is-a-safe-rule-to-apply-that-when-a-mathematical-or-philosophical/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/524/alfred-north-whitehead-836_english-language_it-is-a-safe-rule-to-apply-that-when-a-m_2597474.png) > [By relieving the brain of all unnecessary work, a good notation sets it free to concentrate on more advanced problems, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/by-relieving-the-brain-of-all-unnecessary-work-a-good-notation-sets/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d4/alfred-north-whitehead-836_brain_by-relieving-the-brain-of-all-unnecessar_394557.png) > [Mathematics as a science, commenced when first someone, probably a Greek, proved propositions about "any" things or about "some" things, without specifications…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/mathematics-as-a-science-commenced-when-first-someone-probably-a/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/alfred-north-whitehead-836_definite_mathematics-as-a-science-commenced-when_465021.png) > [In modern times the belief that the ultimate explanation of all things was to be found in Newtonian mechanics was an adumbration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/in-modern-times-the-belief-that-the-ultimate-explanation-of-all/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca5/alfred-north-whitehead-836_all-things_in-modern-times-the-belief-that-the-ulti_1826149.jpg) > [So far as the mere imparting of information is concerned, no university has had any justification for existence since the popularization of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/so-far-as-the-mere-imparting-of-information-is-concerned-no/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/943/alfred-north-whitehead-836_century_so-far-as-the-mere-imparting-of-informat_2357141.png) > [There is a tradition of opposition between adherents of induction and of deduction. In my view it would be just as sensible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/there-is-a-tradition-of-opposition-between-adherents-of-induction-and/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/509/alfred-north-whitehead-836_deduction_there-is-a-tradition-of-opposition-betwe_2721679.jpg) > ["One and one make two" assumes that the changes in the shift of circumstance are unimportant. But it is impossible for us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/one-and-one-make-two-assumes-that-the-changes-in-the-shift-of/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/988/alfred-north-whitehead-836_analyze-this_one-and-one-make-two-assumes-that-the-ch_1126210.png) > [There is no more common error than to assume that, because prolonged and accurate mathematical calculations have been made, the application of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/there-is-no-more-common-error-than-to-assume-that-because-prolonged/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54a/alfred-north-whitehead-836_accurate_there-is-no-more-common-error-than-to-as_815527.png) > [I will not go so far as to say that to construct a history of thought without profound study of the mathematical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/i-will-not-go-so-far-as-to-say-that-to-construct-a-history-of-thought/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/alfred-north-whitehead-836_charming_i-will-not-go-so-far-as-to-say-that-to-c_2158798.jpg) > [It is more important that a proposition be interesting than that it be true. This statement is almost a tautology. For the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/it-is-more-important-that-a-proposition-be-interesting-than-that-it/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcf/alfred-north-whitehead-836_being-true_it-is-more-important-that-a-proposition_2231632.jpg) > [In the study of ideas, it is necessary to remember that insistence on hard-headed clarity issues from sentimental feeling, as it were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/in-the-study-of-ideas-it-is-necessary-to-remember-that-insistence-on-2/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c5/alfred-north-whitehead-836_clarity_in-the-study-of-ideas-it-is-necessary-to_3045057.png) > [Algebra reverses the relative importance of the factors in ordinary language. It is essentially a written language, and it endeavors to exemplify…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/algebra-reverses-the-relative-importance-of-the-factors-in-ordinary/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/alfred-north-whitehead-836_accidents_algebra-reverses-the-relative-importance_604612.jpg) > [The point of mathematics is that in it we have always got rid of the particular instance, and even of any particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-point-of-mathematics-is-that-in-it-we-have-always-got-rid-of-the/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a0/alfred-north-whitehead-836_absolutes_the-point-of-mathematics-is-that-in-it-w_649332.jpg) > [It is a profoundly erroneous truism, repeated by all copy books and by eminent people when they are making speeches, that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/it-is-a-profoundly-erroneous-truism-repeated-by-all-copy-books-and-by/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12d/alfred-north-whitehead-836_book_it-is-a-profoundly-erroneous-truism-repe_249669.jpg) ## Other authors on Mathematical ## More by Alfred North Whitehead > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Philosophy begins in wonder. And, at the end, when philosophic thought has done its best, the wonder remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/philosophy-begins-in-wonder-and-at-the-end-when-philosophic-thought/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The pursuit of mathematics is a divine madness of the human spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-pursuit-of-mathematics-is-a-divine-madness-of-the-human-spirit/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Without adventure all civilization is full of decay. Adventure rarely reaches its predetermined end. Columbus never reached China.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/without-adventure-all-civilization-is-full-of-decay-adventure-rarely/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Aristotle discovered all the half-truths which were necessary to the creation of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/aristotle-discovered-all-the-half-truths-which-were-necessary-to-the/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [On the ostensible exactitude of certain branches of human knowledge, including mathematics. The exactness is a fake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/on-the-ostensible-exactitude-of-certain-branches-of-human-knowledge/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [It is this union of passionate interest in the detailed facts with equal devotion to abstract generalisation which forms the novelty in our present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/it-is-this-union-of-passionate-interest-in-the-detailed-facts-with/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Our minds are finite, and yet even in these circumstances of infinitude we are surrounded by possibilities that are infinite, and the purpose of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/our-minds-are-finite-and-yet-even-in-these-circumstances-of/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The many become one and are increased by one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-many-become-one-and-are-increased-by-one/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience, and our aesthetic enjoyment is recognition of the pattern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/art-is-the-imposing-of-a-pattern-on-experience-and-our-aesthetic/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The future belongs to those who can rise above the confines of the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-future-belongs-to-those-who-can-rise-above-the-confines-of-the/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Common sense is genius in homespun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/common-sense-is-genius-in-homespun/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Everyone is a philosopher. Not everyone is good at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/everyone-is-a-philosopher-not-everyone-is-good-at-it/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Do not teach too many subjects and what you teach, teach thoroughly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/do-not-teach-too-many-subjects-and-what-you-teach-teach-thoroughly/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking about them. Operations of thought are cavalry charges in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/civilization-advances-by-extending-the-number-of-important-operations/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematical/alfred-north-whitehead/#itemlist", "name": "22 Mathematical Quotes By Alfred North Whitehead", "numberOfItems": 22, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "War can protect; it cannot create.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred North Whitehead" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/war-can-protect-it-cannot-create/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7e/alfred-north-whitehead-836_create_war-can-protect-it-cannot-create-1313944_1313944.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7e/alfred-north-whitehead-836_create_war-can-protect-it-cannot-create-1313944_1313944.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7e/alfred-north-whitehead-836_create_war-can-protect-it-cannot-create-1313944_1313944.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“War can protect; it cannot create.” — Alfred North Whitehead", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The study of mathematics is apt to commence in disappointment.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred North Whitehead" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-study-of-mathematics-is-apt-to-commence-in-disappointment/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/888/alfred-north-whitehead-836_disappointment_the-study-of-mathematics-is-apt-to-comme_2681588.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/888/alfred-north-whitehead-836_disappointment_the-study-of-mathematics-is-apt-to-comme_2681588.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/888/alfred-north-whitehead-836_disappointment_the-study-of-mathematics-is-apt-to-comme_2681588.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The study of mathematics is apt to commence in disappointment.” — Alfred North Whitehead", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No Roman ever died in contemplation over a geometrical diagram.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred North Whitehead" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/no-roman-ever-died-in-contemplation-over-a-geometrical-diagram/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2b/alfred-north-whitehead-836_contemplation_no-roman-ever-died-in-contemplation-over_1958108.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2b/alfred-north-whitehead-836_contemplation_no-roman-ever-died-in-contemplation-over_1958108.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2b/alfred-north-whitehead-836_contemplation_no-roman-ever-died-in-contemplation-over_1958108.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“No Roman ever died in contemplation over a geometrical diagram.” — Alfred North Whitehead", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no nature at an instant.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred North Whitehead" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/there-is-no-nature-at-an-instant/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4c/alfred-north-whitehead-836_inspirational_there-is-no-nature-at-an-instant-1892209_1892209.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4c/alfred-north-whitehead-836_inspirational_there-is-no-nature-at-an-instant-1892209_1892209.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4c/alfred-north-whitehead-836_inspirational_there-is-no-nature-at-an-instant-1892209_1892209.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is no nature at an instant.” — Alfred North Whitehead", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Seek simplicity, and distrust it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred North Whitehead" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/seek-simplicity-and-distrust-it/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/alfred-north-whitehead-836_creativity_seek-simplicity-and-distrust-it-2889365_2889365.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/alfred-north-whitehead-836_creativity_seek-simplicity-and-distrust-it-2889365_2889365.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/alfred-north-whitehead-836_creativity_seek-simplicity-and-distrust-it-2889365_2889365.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Seek simplicity, and distrust it.” — Alfred North Whitehead", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The pursuit of mathematics is a divine madness of the human spirit.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred North Whitehead" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-pursuit-of-mathematics-is-a-divine-madness-of-the-human-spirit/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/alfred-north-whitehead-836_divine_the-pursuit-of-mathematics-is-a-divine-m_32034.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/alfred-north-whitehead-836_divine_the-pursuit-of-mathematics-is-a-divine-m_32034.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/alfred-north-whitehead-836_divine_the-pursuit-of-mathematics-is-a-divine-m_32034.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The pursuit of mathematics is a divine madness of the human spirit.” — Alfred North Whitehead", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You cannot evade quantity. You may fly to poetry and music, and quantity and number will face you in your rhythms and your octaves.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred North Whitehead" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/you-cannot-evade-quantity-you-may-fly-to-poetry-and-music-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/404/alfred-north-whitehead-836_faces_you-cannot-evade-quantity-you-may-fly-to_1653202.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/404/alfred-north-whitehead-836_faces_you-cannot-evade-quantity-you-may-fly-to_1653202.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/404/alfred-north-whitehead-836_faces_you-cannot-evade-quantity-you-may-fly-to_1653202.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You cannot evade quantity. You may fly to poetry and music, and quantity and number will face you in your…” — Alfred North Whitehead", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is more important that a proposition be interesting than that it be true.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred North Whitehead" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/it-is-more-important-that-a-proposition-be-interesting-than-that-it-2/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/alfred-north-whitehead-836_being-true_it-is-more-important-that-a-proposition_3047395.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/alfred-north-whitehead-836_being-true_it-is-more-important-that-a-proposition_3047395.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/alfred-north-whitehead-836_being-true_it-is-more-important-that-a-proposition_3047395.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is more important that a proposition be interesting than that it be true.” — Alfred North Whitehead", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is a safe rule to apply that, when a mathematical or philosophical author writes with a misty profundity, he is talking nonsense.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred North Whitehead" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/it-is-a-safe-rule-to-apply-that-when-a-mathematical-or-philosophical/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/524/alfred-north-whitehead-836_english-language_it-is-a-safe-rule-to-apply-that-when-a-m_2597474.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/524/alfred-north-whitehead-836_english-language_it-is-a-safe-rule-to-apply-that-when-a-m_2597474.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/524/alfred-north-whitehead-836_english-language_it-is-a-safe-rule-to-apply-that-when-a-m_2597474.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is a safe rule to apply that, when a mathematical or philosophical author writes with a misty profundity…” — Alfred North Whitehead", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "By relieving the brain of all unnecessary work, a good notation sets it free to concentrate on more advanced problems, and in effect increases the mental power of the race.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred North Whitehead" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/by-relieving-the-brain-of-all-unnecessary-work-a-good-notation-sets/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d4/alfred-north-whitehead-836_brain_by-relieving-the-brain-of-all-unnecessar_394557.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d4/alfred-north-whitehead-836_brain_by-relieving-the-brain-of-all-unnecessar_394557.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d4/alfred-north-whitehead-836_brain_by-relieving-the-brain-of-all-unnecessar_394557.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“By relieving the brain of all unnecessary work, a good notation sets it free to concentrate on more advanced…” — Alfred North Whitehead", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Mathematics as a science, commenced when first someone, probably a Greek, proved propositions about \"any\" things or about \"some\" things, without specifications of definite particular things.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred North Whitehead" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/mathematics-as-a-science-commenced-when-first-someone-probably-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/alfred-north-whitehead-836_definite_mathematics-as-a-science-commenced-when_465021.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/alfred-north-whitehead-836_definite_mathematics-as-a-science-commenced-when_465021.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/alfred-north-whitehead-836_definite_mathematics-as-a-science-commenced-when_465021.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Mathematics as a science, commenced when first someone, probably a Greek, proved propositions about \"any\"…” — Alfred North Whitehead", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In modern times the belief that the ultimate explanation of all things was to be found in Newtonian mechanics was an adumbration of the truth that all science, as it grows towards perfection, becomes mathematical in its ideas.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred North Whitehead" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/in-modern-times-the-belief-that-the-ultimate-explanation-of-all/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca5/alfred-north-whitehead-836_all-things_in-modern-times-the-belief-that-the-ulti_1826149.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca5/alfred-north-whitehead-836_all-things_in-modern-times-the-belief-that-the-ulti_1826149.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca5/alfred-north-whitehead-836_all-things_in-modern-times-the-belief-that-the-ulti_1826149.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In modern times the belief that the ultimate explanation of all things was to be found in Newtonian…” — Alfred North Whitehead", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "So far as the mere imparting of information is concerned, no university has had any justification for existence since the popularization of printing in the fifteenth century.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred North Whitehead" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/so-far-as-the-mere-imparting-of-information-is-concerned-no/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/943/alfred-north-whitehead-836_century_so-far-as-the-mere-imparting-of-informat_2357141.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/943/alfred-north-whitehead-836_century_so-far-as-the-mere-imparting-of-informat_2357141.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/943/alfred-north-whitehead-836_century_so-far-as-the-mere-imparting-of-informat_2357141.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“So far as the mere imparting of information is concerned, no university has had any justification for…” — Alfred North Whitehead", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 14, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is a tradition of opposition between adherents of induction and of deduction. In my view it would be just as sensible for the two ends of a worm to quarrel.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred North Whitehead" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/there-is-a-tradition-of-opposition-between-adherents-of-induction-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/509/alfred-north-whitehead-836_deduction_there-is-a-tradition-of-opposition-betwe_2721679.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/509/alfred-north-whitehead-836_deduction_there-is-a-tradition-of-opposition-betwe_2721679.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/509/alfred-north-whitehead-836_deduction_there-is-a-tradition-of-opposition-betwe_2721679.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is a tradition of opposition between adherents of induction and of deduction. In my view it would be…” — Alfred North Whitehead", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 15, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "\"One and one make two\" assumes that the changes in the shift of circumstance are unimportant. But it is impossible for us to analyze this notion of unimportant change.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred North Whitehead" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/one-and-one-make-two-assumes-that-the-changes-in-the-shift-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/988/alfred-north-whitehead-836_analyze-this_one-and-one-make-two-assumes-that-the-ch_1126210.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/988/alfred-north-whitehead-836_analyze-this_one-and-one-make-two-assumes-that-the-ch_1126210.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/988/alfred-north-whitehead-836_analyze-this_one-and-one-make-two-assumes-that-the-ch_1126210.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“\"One and one make two\" assumes that the changes in the shift of circumstance are unimportant. But it is…” — Alfred North Whitehead", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 16, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no more common error than to assume that, because prolonged and accurate mathematical calculations have been made, the application of the result to some fact of nature is absolutely certain.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred North Whitehead" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/there-is-no-more-common-error-than-to-assume-that-because-prolonged/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54a/alfred-north-whitehead-836_accurate_there-is-no-more-common-error-than-to-as_815527.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54a/alfred-north-whitehead-836_accurate_there-is-no-more-common-error-than-to-as_815527.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54a/alfred-north-whitehead-836_accurate_there-is-no-more-common-error-than-to-as_815527.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is no more common error than to assume that, because prolonged and accurate mathematical calculations…” — Alfred North Whitehead", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 17, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I will not go so far as to say that to construct a history of thought without profound study of the mathematical ideas of successive epochs is like omitting Hamlet from the play which is named after him. That would be claiming too much. But it is certainly analogous to cutting out the part of Ophelia. This simile is singularly exact. For Ophelia is quite essential to the play, she is very charming . . . and a little mad.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred North Whitehead" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/i-will-not-go-so-far-as-to-say-that-to-construct-a-history-of-thought/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/alfred-north-whitehead-836_charming_i-will-not-go-so-far-as-to-say-that-to-c_2158798.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/alfred-north-whitehead-836_charming_i-will-not-go-so-far-as-to-say-that-to-c_2158798.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6da/alfred-north-whitehead-836_charming_i-will-not-go-so-far-as-to-say-that-to-c_2158798.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I will not go so far as to say that to construct a history of thought without profound study of the…” — Alfred North Whitehead", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 18, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is more important that a proposition be interesting than that it be true. This statement is almost a tautology. For the energy of operation of a proposition in an occasion of experience is its interest and is its importance. But of course a true proposition is more apt to be interesting than a false one.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred North Whitehead" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/it-is-more-important-that-a-proposition-be-interesting-than-that-it/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcf/alfred-north-whitehead-836_being-true_it-is-more-important-that-a-proposition_2231632.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcf/alfred-north-whitehead-836_being-true_it-is-more-important-that-a-proposition_2231632.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcf/alfred-north-whitehead-836_being-true_it-is-more-important-that-a-proposition_2231632.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is more important that a proposition be interesting than that it be true. This statement is almost a…” — Alfred North Whitehead", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 19, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In the study of ideas, it is necessary to remember that insistence on hard-headed clarity issues from sentimental feeling, as it were a mist, cloaking the perplexities of fact. Insistence on clarity at all costs is based on sheer superstition as to the mode in which human intelligence functions. Our reasonings grasp at straws for premises and float on gossamers for deductions.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred North Whitehead" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/in-the-study-of-ideas-it-is-necessary-to-remember-that-insistence-on-2/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c5/alfred-north-whitehead-836_clarity_in-the-study-of-ideas-it-is-necessary-to_3045057.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c5/alfred-north-whitehead-836_clarity_in-the-study-of-ideas-it-is-necessary-to_3045057.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c5/alfred-north-whitehead-836_clarity_in-the-study-of-ideas-it-is-necessary-to_3045057.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In the study of ideas, it is necessary to remember that insistence on hard-headed clarity issues from…” — Alfred North Whitehead", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 20, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Algebra reverses the relative importance of the factors in ordinary language. It is essentially a written language, and it endeavors to exemplify in its written structures the patterns which it is its purpose to convey. The pattern of the marks on paper is a particular instance of the pattern to be conveyed to thought. The algebraic method is our best approach to the expression of necessity, by reason of its reduction of accident to the ghostlike character of the real variable.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred North Whitehead" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/algebra-reverses-the-relative-importance-of-the-factors-in-ordinary/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/alfred-north-whitehead-836_accidents_algebra-reverses-the-relative-importance_604612.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/alfred-north-whitehead-836_accidents_algebra-reverses-the-relative-importance_604612.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/alfred-north-whitehead-836_accidents_algebra-reverses-the-relative-importance_604612.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Algebra reverses the relative importance of the factors in ordinary language. It is essentially a written…” — Alfred North Whitehead", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 21, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The point of mathematics is that in it we have always got rid of the particular instance, and even of any particular sorts of entities. So that for example, no mathematical truths apply merely to fish, or merely to stones, or merely to colours. So long as you are dealing with pure mathematics, you are in the realm of complete and absolute abstraction. . . . Mathematics is thought moving in the sphere of complete abstraction from any particular instance of what it is talking about.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred North Whitehead" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/the-point-of-mathematics-is-that-in-it-we-have-always-got-rid-of-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a0/alfred-north-whitehead-836_absolutes_the-point-of-mathematics-is-that-in-it-w_649332.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a0/alfred-north-whitehead-836_absolutes_the-point-of-mathematics-is-that-in-it-w_649332.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a0/alfred-north-whitehead-836_absolutes_the-point-of-mathematics-is-that-in-it-w_649332.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The point of mathematics is that in it we have always got rid of the particular instance, and even of any…” — Alfred North Whitehead", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 22, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is a profoundly erroneous truism, repeated by all copy books and by eminent people when they are making speeches, that we should cultivate the habit of thinking of what we are doing. The precise opposite is the case. Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking about them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred North Whitehead" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/it-is-a-profoundly-erroneous-truism-repeated-by-all-copy-books-and-by/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12d/alfred-north-whitehead-836_book_it-is-a-profoundly-erroneous-truism-repe_249669.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12d/alfred-north-whitehead-836_book_it-is-a-profoundly-erroneous-truism-repe_249669.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12d/alfred-north-whitehead-836_book_it-is-a-profoundly-erroneous-truism-repe_249669.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is a profoundly erroneous truism, repeated by all copy books and by eminent people when they are making…” — Alfred North Whitehead", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematical/alfred-north-whitehead/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematical/alfred-north-whitehead/", "name": "Mathematical Quotes by Alfred North Whitehead", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematical/alfred-north-whitehead/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7e/alfred-north-whitehead-836_create_war-can-protect-it-cannot-create-1313944_1313944.png" }, "description": "22 Mathematical quotes by Alfred North Whitehead. Plus more from Alfred North Whitehead and more Mathematical sayings from other authors.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematical/alfred-north-whitehead/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematical/alfred-north-whitehead/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Topics", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Mathematical", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematical/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "name": "Alfred North Whitehead", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematical/alfred-north-whitehead/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```