Attention Quote by Gian-Carlo Rota

“Running overtime is the one unforgivable error a lecturer can make. After fifty minutes (one microcentury as von Neumann used to say) everybody's attention will turn elsewhere.”

Gian-Carlo Rota

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Attention Elsewhere Errors Fifty Lecturer Minutes Running Science Turns Unforgivable Used Von neumann

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God created infinity, and man, unable to understand infinity, had to invent finite sets.

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Philosophers and psychiatrists should explain why it is that we mathematicians are in the habit of systematically erasing our footsteps. Scientists have always looked…

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The lack of real contact between mathematics and biology is either a tragedy, a scandal or a challenge, it is hard to decide which.

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The apex of mathematical achievement occurs when two or more fields which were thought to be entirely unrelated turn out to be closely intertwined.…

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Every field has its taboos. In algebraic geometry the taboos are (1) writing a draft that can be followed by anyone but two or…

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Nature imitates mathematics.

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Mathematics is the study of analogies between analogies. All science is. Scientists want to show that things that don't look alike are really the…

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If we have no idea why a statement is true, we can still prove it by induction.

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Mathematicians also make terrible salesmen. Physicists can discover the same thing as a mathematician and say 'We've discovered a great new law of nature.…

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Stan Ulam was lazy, ... He talked too much ... He was self-centered ... . He had an overpowering personality.

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Explore all 32 Gian-Carlo Rota quotes

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Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.

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