All David Hilbert Quotes
- Wir mussen wissen. Wir werden wissen. We must know. We will know. Inscribed on his tomb in Gilttingen. Funny
- If one were to bring ten of the wisest men in the world together and ask them what was the most stupid thing in existence,… Able
- Sometimes it happens that a man's circle of horizon becomes smaller and smaller, and as the radius approaches zero it concentrates on one point. And… Approach
- I do not want to presuppose anything as known. I see in my explanation in section 1 the definition of the concepts point, straight line… Add
- The infinite! No other question has ever moved so profoundly the spirit of man. Ever Moved
- One must be able to say at all times--instead of points, straight lines, and planes--tables, chairs, and beer mugs Able
- Physics is becoming too difficult for the physicists. Becoming
- The further a mathematical theory is developed, the more harmoniously and uniformly does its construction proceed, and unsuspected relations are disclosed between hitherto separated branches… Branches
- No other question has ever moved so profoundly the spirit of man; no other idea has so fruitfully stimulated his intellect; yet no other concept… Clarification
- The art of doing mathematics consists in finding that special case which contains all the germs of generality All
- One can measure the importance of a scientific work by the number of earlier publications rendered superfluous by it Earlier
- Galileo was no idiot. Only an idiot could believe that science requires martyrdom - that may be necessary in religion, but in time a scientific… Believe
- Besides it is an error to believe that rigour is the enemy of simplicity. On the contrary we find it confirmed by numerous examples that… Believe
- Before beginning [to try to prove Fermat's Last Theorem] I should have to put in three years of intensive study, and I haven't that much… Beginning
- Mathematics is a game played according to certain simple rules with meaningless marks on paper. According
- Mathematical science is in my opinion an indivisible whole, an organism whose vitality is conditioned upon the connection of its parts. Conditioned
- I do not see that the sex of the candidate is an argument against her admission as a Privatdozent. After all, the Senate is not… Admission
- Indignant reply to the blatent sex discrimination expressed in a colleague's opposition when Hilbert proposed appointing Emmy Noether as the first woman professor at their… Appointing
- Some people have got a mental horizon of radius zero and call it their point of view. Call
- We must know. We will know. Inspirational
- Physics is much too hard for physicists. Hard
- I have tried to avoid long numerical computations, thereby following Riemann's postulate that proofs should be given through ideas and not voluminous computations. Avoid
- The arithmetical symbols are written diagrams and the geometrical figures are graphic formulas. Arithmetical
- [On Cantor's work:] The finest product of mathematical genius and one of the supreme achievements of purely intellectual human activity. Achievement
- One hears a lot of talk about the hostility between scientists and engineers. I don't believe in any such thing. In fact I am quite… Any