--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: like literary fiction, mathematical…" description: "\"“like literary fiction, mathematical imagination entertains pure possibilities.”\" — Daniel Tammet" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/daniel-tammet-8321_imagination_like-literary-fiction-mathematical-imagi_2251562.png" --- # like literary fiction, mathematical imagination entertains… ![“like literary fiction, mathematical imagination entertains pure possibilities.” quote by Daniel Tammet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/daniel-tammet-8321_imagination_like-literary-fiction-mathematical-imagi_2251562.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/daniel-tammet-8321_imagination_like-literary-fiction-mathematical-imagi_2251562.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/daniel-tammet-8321_imagination_like-literary-fiction-mathematical-imagi_2251562.png) > ““like literary fiction, mathematical imagination entertains pure possibilities.”” [Daniel Tammet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tammet/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mathematical imagination, like literary fiction, explores possibilities without immediate practical constraints. **In simple terms:** Math can imagine pure possibilities like fiction. Key Takeaway Embrace creative speculation in math. Themes creativity imagination possibility literary fiction Mood curious inspired Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - research brainstorming - educational curriculum design - creative problem solving Key Concepts abstract thinking conceptual exploration hypothetical scenarios Questions to Reflect On - How can abstract ideas become useful? - When should imagination be restrained? 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I would have to push myself to overcome the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tammet/growing-up-i-would-have-to-watch-the-other-children-and-learn-from-my/) [Daniel Tammet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tammet/) > [I love music. I have a fondness for Chopin, and I very much like his 'Raindrop Prelude.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tammet/i-love-music-i-have-a-fondness-for-chopin-and-i-very-much-like-his/) [Daniel Tammet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tammet/) > [My algebra was relatively poor. I found it very difficult to use equations that substituted numbers - to which I had a synesthetic and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tammet/my-algebra-was-relatively-poor-i-found-it-very-difficult-to-use/) [Daniel Tammet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tammet/) > [I've got a quiet voice. I think it's because as a child I didn't speak very much. I used to put my fingers in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tammet/i-ve-got-a-quiet-voice-i-think-it-s-because-as-a-child-i-didn-t-speak/) [Daniel Tammet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tammet/) > [I feel traveling certainly does broaden the mind. In my case certainly I feel more confident. It gives you a new perspective on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tammet/i-feel-traveling-certainly-does-broaden-the-mind-in-my-case-certainly/) [Daniel Tammet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tammet/) > [We know next to nothing with any certainty about Pythagoras, except that he was not really called Pythagoras. The name by which he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tammet/we-know-next-to-nothing-with-any-certainty-about-pythagoras-except/) [Daniel Tammet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tammet/) > [Aesthetics - rather than reason - shapes our thought processes. First comes aesthetics, then logic. 'Thinking in Numbers' is not about an attempt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tammet/aesthetics-rather-than-reason-shapes-our-thought-processes-first/) [Daniel Tammet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tammet/) > [There are always things I find difficult - being in crowds, remembering faces. I do like routines. I always travel with someone. My life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tammet/there-are-always-things-i-find-difficult-being-in-crowds-remembering/) [Daniel Tammet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tammet/) > [One particular aspect of Siddhartha’s revelation of the outside world has always struck me. Quite possibly he lived his first thirty years without any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tammet/one-particular-aspect-of-siddhartha-s-revelation-of-the-outside-world/) [Daniel Tammet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tammet/) > [I love books so much. I've read more books than anyone else I know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tammet/i-love-books-so-much-i-ve-read-more-books-than-anyone-else-i-know/) [Daniel Tammet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tammet/) > [I recited Pi to 22,514 decimal points in five hours and nine minutes. I was able to do this because of weeks of study,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tammet/i-recited-pi-to-22-514-decimal-points-in-five-hours-and-nine-minutes/) [Daniel Tammet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tammet/) [Explore all 82 Daniel Tammet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tammet/) ## More Imagination quotes > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Imagination is the greatest nation in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/imagination-is-the-greatest-nation-in-the-world/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Merkel has realized that the euro is not working, but she cannot change the narrative she has created because that narrative has caught the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/merkel-has-realized-that-the-euro-is-not-working-but-she-cannot/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [Life is what you make it¦If one refuses to use ones imagination..it will be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-what-you-make-it-if-one-refuses-to-use-ones-imagination-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [A beard is something that is almost like a mirror to the viewer. When someone sees you wearing a beard, they're seeing something in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/a-beard-is-something-that-is-almost-like-a-mirror-to-the-viewer-when/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I like fantasy, but I don't live and breathe fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/i-like-fantasy-but-i-don-t-live-and-breathe-fantasy/) [Lauren Schmidt Hissrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/) > [While the world of reality has its limits, the world of your imagination is without boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/while-the-world-of-reality-has-its-limits-the-world-of-your/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Edgy is fine - I'm not a prude by any stretch of the imagination - but what's wrong with a good ol' belly laugh?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/edgy-is-fine-i-m-not-a-prude-by-any-stretch-of-the-imagination-but/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [With VR, we have this same vision, which is create this ultimate platform for sharing your imagination. Our huge community of 300,000 developers creates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baszucki/with-vr-we-have-this-same-vision-which-is-create-this-ultimate/) [David Baszucki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baszucki/) > [I like the idea of letting the music do its own work and the stories being more expressionful - if that's a word -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-flynn/i-like-the-idea-of-letting-the-music-do-its-own-work-and-the-stories/) [Johnny Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-flynn/) [Browse all 9,060 Imagination quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“like literary fiction, mathematical imagination entertains pure possibilities.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Daniel Tammet" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tammet/like-literary-fiction-mathematical-imagination-entertains-pure/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Imagination" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tammet/like-literary-fiction-mathematical-imagination-entertains-pure/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/daniel-tammet-8321_imagination_like-literary-fiction-mathematical-imagi_2251562.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/daniel-tammet-8321_imagination_like-literary-fiction-mathematical-imagi_2251562.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/daniel-tammet-8321_imagination_like-literary-fiction-mathematical-imagi_2251562.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“like literary fiction, mathematical imagination entertains pure possibilities.” — Daniel Tammet", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "Daniel Tammet", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tammet/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“like literary fiction, mathematical imagination entertains...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tammet/like-literary-fiction-mathematical-imagination-entertains-pure/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tammet/like-literary-fiction-mathematical-imagination-entertains-pure/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```