There was a seminar for advanced students in Zürich that I was teaching and von Neumann was in the class. I came to a certain theorem, and I said it is not proved and it may be difficult. Von Neumann… — George Polya Copy Share Image
To write and speak correctly is certainly necessary; but it is not sufficient. A derivation correctly presented in the book or on the blackboard may be inaccessible and uninstructive, if the purpose of the successive steps is incomprehensible, if the… — George Polya Copy Share Image
Pedantry and mastery are opposite attitudes toward rules. To apply a rule to the letter, rigidly, unquestioningly, in cases where it fits and in… — George Polya Copy Share Image
A GREAT discovery solves a great problem but there is a grain of discovery in any problem. — George Polya Copy Share Image
Where should I start? Start from the statement of the problem. ... What can I do? Visualize the problem as a whole as clearly… — George Polya Copy Share Image
In order to translate a sentence from English into French two things are necessary. First, we must understand thoroughly the English sentence. Second, we… — George Polya Copy Share Image
Look around when you have got your first mushroom or made your first discovery: they grow in clusters. — George Polya Copy Share Image
I am too good for philosophy and not good enough for physics. Mathematics is in between. — George Polya Copy Share Image
Solving problems is a practical art, like swimming, or skiing, or playing the piano: you can learn it only by imitation and practice. — George Polya Copy Share Image
An idea which can be used only once is a trick. If one can use it more than once it becomes a method. — George Polya Copy Share Image
To teach effectively a teacher must develop a feeling for his subject; he cannot make his students sense its vitality if he does not… — George Polya Copy Share Image
The world is anxious to admire that apex and culmination of modern mathematics: a theorem so perfectly general that no particular application of it… — George Polya Copy Share Image
The first rule of discovery is to have brains and good luck. The second rule of discovery is to sit tight and wait till… — George Polya Copy Share Image
![“Pedantry and mastery are opposite attitudes toward rules. To apply a rule to the letter, rigidly, unquestioningly, in cases where it fits and in cases where it does not fit, is pedantry. [...] To apply a rule with natural ease, with judgment, noticing the cases where it fits, and without ever…” quote by George Polya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/927/george-polya-10766_action_pedantry-and-mastery-are-opposite-attitu_112396.jpg)
