Axioms Quote by George Polya

Mathematics consists in proving the most obvious thing in the least obvious way.

— George Polya

Many of the proofs in mathematics are very long and intricate. Others, though not long, are very ingeniously constructed.

— Edward Charles Titchmarsh

What a mathematical proof actually does is show that certain conclusions, such as the irrationality of , follow from certain premises, such as the…

— Timothy Gowers

A modern mathematical proof is not very different from a modern machine, or a modern test setup: the simple fundamental principles are hidden and…

— Hermann Weyl

Mathematical proofs, like diamonds, are hard and clear, and will be touched with nothing but strict reasoning.

— John Locke

A mathematical proof is beautiful, but when you're finished, it's really only about one thing. A story can be about many things.

— Bonnie Jo Campbell

I think mathematics is a vast territory. The outskirts of mathematics are the outskirts of mathematical civilization. There are certain subjects that people learn…

— William Thurston

Only professional mathematicians learn anything from proofs. Other people learn from explanations.

— Ralph P. Boas, Jr

Thus, in a sense, mathematics has been most advanced by those who distinguished themselves by intuition rather than by rigorous proofs.

— Felix Klein

You can "prove" anything on the verbal level, just be accepting the necessary axioms at the beginning.

— Robert Anton Wilson

I believe that proving is not a natural activity for mathematicians.

— Rene Thom