--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mathematics may be defined as the subject…" description: "\"Mathematics may be defined as the subject in which we never know what we are talking about, nor whether what we are saying is true.\" — Bertrand Russell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d8/bertrand-russell-69_math_mathematics-may-be-defined-as-the-subjec_1807512.jpg" --- # Mathematics may be defined as the subject in which we… ![“Mathematics may be defined as the subject in which we never know what we are talking about, nor whether what we are saying is true.” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d8/bertrand-russell-69_math_mathematics-may-be-defined-as-the-subjec_1807512.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d8/bertrand-russell-69_math_mathematics-may-be-defined-as-the-subjec_1807512.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d8/bertrand-russell-69_math_mathematics-may-be-defined-as-the-subjec_1807512.jpg) > “Mathematics may be defined as the subject in which we never know what we are talking about, nor whether what we are saying is true.” [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mathematics is a discipline where certainty is elusive, and truth is often uncertain. **In simple terms:** Math involves uncertain truths and unknowns. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty as part of mathematical inquiry. Themes philosophy epistemology mathematics Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - research - teaching - problem solving Key Concepts logic abstract reasoning foundations of knowledge Questions to Reflect On - What does uncertainty teach us about knowledge? - How do you handle ambiguous results? A Different Perspective Complex proofs may never resolve definitively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Defined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defined/) [Defined Subject](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defined-subject-2085663/) [Math](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/math/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Mathematics Defined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics-defined-236232/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Saying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saying/) [Subject Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subject-know-347368/) [Talking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talking/) ## Related quotes > [Mathematics may be defined as the economy of counting. 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We can't know everything about each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-fyffe/darling-there-re-things-i-haven-t-told-you-yet-either-just-didn-t/) [Caroline Fyffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-fyffe/) > [Cooking is a subject you can never know enough about. There is always something new to discover.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-flay/cooking-is-a-subject-you-can-never-know-enough-about-there-is-always/) [Bobby Flay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-flay/) > [Let’s not talk about how I am. 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The subject I want to know better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oroma-elewa/i-am-my-own-muse-i-am-the-subject-i-know-best-the-subject-i-want-to/) [Oroma Elewa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oroma-elewa/) > [With my students, I always have to sell my subject because I know when you're 19, 20 years old, you've got other things on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/with-my-students-i-always-have-to-sell-my-subject-because-i-know-when/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [Knowledge is of two kinds: we know a subject itself, or know where to find it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/knowledge-is-of-two-kinds-we-know-a-subject-itself-or-know-where-to/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) ## More by Bertrand Russell > [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [That the world is in a bad shape is undeniable, but there is not the faintest reason in history to suppose that Christianity offers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/that-the-world-is-in-a-bad-shape-is-undeniable-but-there-is-not-the/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [All movements go too far.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/all-movements-go-too-far/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Those who advocate common usage in philosophy sometimes speak in a manner that suggests the mystique of the 'common man.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/those-who-advocate-common-usage-in-philosophy-sometimes-speak-in-a/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“Such, in outline, but even more purposeless, more void of meaning, is the world which Science presents for our belief. 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This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/many-orthodox-people-speak-as-though-it-were-the-business-of-sceptics/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [There is no greater reason for children to honour parents than for parents to honour children except, that while the children are young, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/there-is-no-greater-reason-for-children-to-honour-parents-than-for/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) [Explore all 1,620 Bertrand Russell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) ## More Defined quotes > [Christianity was never meant to be defined by its disciplines, but by its passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/christianity-was-never-meant-to-be-defined-by-its-disciplines-but-by/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [Jazz is not something that can be defined through blunt instruments. It is much more poetic than that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/jazz-is-not-something-that-can-be-defined-through-blunt-instruments/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [Among the many factors that make a return to halcyon days of the first decades of the postwar era virtually impossible is the decline…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gilpin/among-the-many-factors-that-make-a-return-to-halcyon-days-of-the/) [Robert Gilpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gilpin/) > [One of the noblest words in our language is "grace," defined as "unearned blessing." We live by grace far more than by anything else.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/one-of-the-noblest-words-in-our-language-is-grace-defined-as-unearned/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) > [If it comes to a question of law, the charges they brought against me - the Espionage Act - is called the quintessential political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-it-comes-to-a-question-of-law-the-charges-they-brought-against-me/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [ The self is defined psychologically as the psychic totality of the individual. 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