Book Quote by Hermann Weyl
“Our federal income tax law defines the tax y to be paid in terms of the income x; it does so in a clumsy enough way by pasting several linear functions together, each valid in another interval or bracket of income. An archeologist who, five thousand years from now, shall unearth some of our income tax returns together with relics of engineering works and mathematical books, will probably date them a couple of centuries earlier, certainly before Galileo and Vieta.”
About This Quote
Source Lecture: Mathematics History Talk, 1930s (hypothetical)
He critiques tax law as a patchwork of linear pieces, predicting future scholars will misdate it.
In simple terms: Tax systems are often clumsily assembled.
Key Takeaway
Simplify tax structures for clarity.
Themes
taxation
history
mathematics
Mood
analytical
critical
Type
theoretical
historical
When to use this quote
- policy reform
- academic research
- financial planning
Key Concepts
piecewise functions
economic policy
historical perspective
Questions to Reflect On
- How might modern tax law be misinterpreted by future historians?
- What reforms could make tax law more coherent?
A Different Perspective
Complex systems can be hard to reinterpret later.
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