--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I were to awaken after having slept…" description: "\"If I were to awaken after having slept for a thousand years, my first question would be: Has the Riemann hypothesis been proven?\" — David Hilbert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/813/david-hilbert-12585_hypothesis_if-i-were-to-awaken-after-having-slept-f_110115.jpg" --- # If I were to awaken after having slept for a thousand… ![“If I were to awaken after having slept for a thousand years, my first question would be: Has the Riemann hypothesis been proven?” quote by David Hilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/813/david-hilbert-12585_hypothesis_if-i-were-to-awaken-after-having-slept-f_110115.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/813/david-hilbert-12585_hypothesis_if-i-were-to-awaken-after-having-slept-f_110115.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/813/david-hilbert-12585_hypothesis_if-i-were-to-awaken-after-having-slept-f_110115.jpg) > “If I were to awaken after having slept for a thousand years, my first question would be: Has the Riemann hypothesis been proven?” [David Hilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hilbert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even after a millennium, mathematicians would still prioritize solving the Riemann hypothesis. **In simple terms:** Mathematical curiosity endures across ages. Key Takeaway Fundamental problems outlast eras. Themes mathematics Riemann hypothesis long‑term curiosity intellectual legacy Mood playful intellectual Type humorous speculation academic reflection When to use this quote - Academic research funding decisions - Graduate seminars on unsolved problems - Public science outreach Key Concepts prime number distribution theoretical importance Practical Applications - Encourage interdisciplinary approaches to prime number theory - Develop educational modules highlighting historic conjectures Questions to Reflect On - Why do certain conjectures retain cultural fascination? - How might future technologies shift mathematical priorities? A Different Perspective The humor assumes a single problem dominates all future intellectual pursuits, which is unlikely. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hypothesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypothesis/) [Hypothesis Proven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypothesis-proven-1309574/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Question Riemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question-riemann-1309573/) [Riemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/riemann/) [Riemann Hypothesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/riemann-hypothesis-429733/) [Thousand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand/) [Thousand years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand-years/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [It wouild be very discouraging if somewhere down the line you could ask a computer if the Riemann hypothesis is correct and it said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-graham/it-wouild-be-very-discouraging-if-somewhere-down-the-line-you-could/) [Ronald Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-graham/) > [It would be very discouraging if somewhere down the line you could ask a computer if the Riemann hypothesis is correct and it said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-graham/it-would-be-very-discouraging-if-somewhere-down-the-line-you-could/) [Ronald Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-graham/) > [The greatest problem for mathematicians now is probably the Riemann Hypothesis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-wiles/the-greatest-problem-for-mathematicians-now-is-probably-the-riemann/) [Andrew Wiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-wiles/) > [I have tried to avoid long numerical computations, thereby following Riemann's postulate that proofs should be given through ideas and not voluminous computations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hilbert/i-have-tried-to-avoid-long-numerical-computations-thereby-following/) [David Hilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hilbert/) > [“There has been some progress on proving the Riemann Hypothesis, but it remains unsolved. 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Our symptotes no longer out of phase, We shall encounter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-lem/in-riemann-hilbert-or-in-banach-space-let-superscripts-and-subscripts/) [Stanislaw Lem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-lem/) > [When it comes to explaining human thought and behavior, the possibility that heredity plays any role at all still has the power to shock.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/when-it-comes-to-explaining-human-thought-and-behavior-the/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [I am quite conscious that my speculations run beyond the bounds of true science…It is a mere rag of an hypothesis with as many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-am-quite-conscious-that-my-speculations-run-beyond-the-bounds-of/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More by David Hilbert > [ \[On Cantor's work:\] The finest product of mathematical genius and one of the supreme achievements of purely intellectual human activity. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hilbert/on-cantor-s-work-the-finest-product-of-mathematical-genius-and-one-of/) [David Hilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hilbert/) > [Geometry is the most complete science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hilbert/geometry-is-the-most-complete-science/) [David Hilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hilbert/) > [Who of us would not be glad to lift the veil behind which the future lies hidden; to cast a glance at the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hilbert/who-of-us-would-not-be-glad-to-lift-the-veil-behind-which-the-future/) [David Hilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hilbert/) > [How thoroughly it is ingrained in mathematical science that every real advance goes hand in hand with the invention of sharper tools and simpler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hilbert/how-thoroughly-it-is-ingrained-in-mathematical-science-that-every/) [David Hilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hilbert/) > [Galileo was no idiot. 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Mathematics is, in my opinion, an indivisible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hilbert/is-mathematics-doomed-to-suffer-the-same-fate-as-other-sciences-that/) [David Hilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hilbert/) > [One must be able to say at all times--instead of points, straight lines, and planes--tables, chairs, and beer mugs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hilbert/one-must-be-able-to-say-at-all-times-instead-of-points-straight-lines/) [David Hilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hilbert/) > [I have tried to avoid long numerical computations, thereby following Riemann's postulate that proofs should be given through ideas and not voluminous computations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hilbert/i-have-tried-to-avoid-long-numerical-computations-thereby-following/) [David Hilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hilbert/) > [I do not want to presuppose anything as known. 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