--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...a major triumph of mathematical…" description: "\"...a major triumph of mathematical imagination: the use of visual imagery to condense a large quantity of information into a single comprehensible pict..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f31/ian-stewart-28086_aesthetic_a-major-triumph-of-mathematical-imaginat_3161561.jpg" --- # ...a major triumph of mathematical imagination: the use of… ![“...a major triumph of mathematical imagination: the use of visual imagery to condense a large quantity of information into a single comprehensible picture... Mathematicians are just beginning to understand these basic building blocks of change and to analyze how they combine. The methodology…” quote by Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f31/ian-stewart-28086_aesthetic_a-major-triumph-of-mathematical-imaginat_3161561.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f31/ian-stewart-28086_aesthetic_a-major-triumph-of-mathematical-imaginat_3161561.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f31/ian-stewart-28086_aesthetic_a-major-triumph-of-mathematical-imaginat_3161561.jpg) > “...a major triumph of mathematical imagination: the use of visual imagery to condense a large quantity of information into a single comprehensible picture... Mathematicians are just beginning to understand these basic building blocks of change and to analyze how they combine. The methodology involved has a very different spirit from traditional modeling with differential equations: it is more like chemistry than calculus, requiring careful counterpoint between analysis and synthesis.” [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Visual thinking compresses complex data into understandable images, offering a chemistry-like approach to math. **In simple terms:** Visual tools simplify complex ideas. Key Takeaway Use visual models to grasp intricate concepts. Themes mathematics visualization creativity interdisciplinary methods Mood inspired curious Type educational innovative When to use this quote - education - research - data analysis - design - engineering Key Concepts cognitive science information theory synthetic reasoning Questions to Reflect On - How can visual models complement analytical work? - When might they mislead? A Different Perspective Visual methods may oversimplify nuances of formal proofs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aesthetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetic/) [Analysis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/analysis/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Building blocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/building-blocks/) [Calculus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calculus/) [Chemistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chemistry/) [Differential equations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differential-equations/) [Imagery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagery/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Mathematician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematician/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Methodology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/methodology/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Triumph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triumph/) [Visual imagery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/visual-imagery/) ## Related quotes > [Pure mathematicians just love to try unsolved problems - they love a challenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-wiles/pure-mathematicians-just-love-to-try-unsolved-problems-they-love-a/) [Andrew Wiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-wiles/) > [Do not talk to me of Archimedes' lever. He was an absent-minded person with a mathematical imagination. Mathematics commands my respect, but I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/do-not-talk-to-me-of-archimedes-lever-he-was-an-absent-minded-person/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“like literary fiction, mathematical imagination entertains pure possibilities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tammet/like-literary-fiction-mathematical-imagination-entertains-pure/) [Daniel Tammet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tammet/) > [One factor that has remained constant through all the twists and turns of the history of physical science is the decisive importance of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/one-factor-that-has-remained-constant-through-all-the-twists-and/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [To know how scientists engage in visual imagery is to understand how they think creatively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/to-know-how-scientists-engage-in-visual-imagery-is-to-understand-how/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [I like visual imagery in my head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-malkmus/i-like-visual-imagery-in-my-head/) [Stephen Malkmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-malkmus/) > [When I watch a movie I don't really care too much about the plot - not that it isn't important, but what I remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-hyneman/when-i-watch-a-movie-i-don-t-really-care-too-much-about-the-plot-not/) [Jamie Hyneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-hyneman/) > [Many memory techniques involve creating unforgettable imagery, in your minds eye. Thats an act of imagination. Creating really weird imagery really quickly was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/many-memory-techniques-involve-creating-unforgettable-imagery-in-your-2/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [“America today remembers its history through visual imagery. Film, print, and electronic media are very capital intensive, which means that most Americans are consumers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-lembcke/america-today-remembers-its-history-through-visual-imagery-film-print/) Jerry Lembcke > [I think almost always that what gets me going with a story is the atmosphere, the visual imagery, and then I people it with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/i-think-almost-always-that-what-gets-me-going-with-a-story-is-the/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [“During dreaming, we’re tuned inward, we experience vivid visual imagery, our conventional logic system is turned down, and social norms are loosened, all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-rock/during-dreaming-we-re-tuned-inward-we-experience-vivid-visual-imagery/) Andrea Rock > [People have always commented along the way that, 'You guys are always so visual in what you do.' The songs have always had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-mael/people-have-always-commented-along-the-way-that-you-guys-are-always/) [Russell Mael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-mael/) > [It's thought that about 96% of us have visual imagery, and there's a very tiny minority in the population, some of whom are normal,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/it-s-thought-that-about-96-of-us-have-visual-imagery-and-there-s-a/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [What I take from writers I like is their economy - the ability to use language to very effective ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mos-def/what-i-take-from-writers-i-like-is-their-economy-the-ability-to-use/) [Mos Def](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mos-def/) > [The ability to have somebody read something and see it, or for somebody to paint an entire landscape of visual imagery with just sheets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mos-def/the-ability-to-have-somebody-read-something-and-see-it-or-for/) [Mos Def](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mos-def/) ## More by Ian Stewart > [“There are 10 kinds of people in the world: those who understand binary numerals, and those who don't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/there-are-10-kinds-of-people-in-the-world-those-who-understand-binary/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [If our brains were simple enough for us to understand them, we'd be so simple that we couldn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/if-our-brains-were-simple-enough-for-us-to-understand-them-we-d-be-so/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [Our teaching of mathematics revolves around a fundamental conflict. Rightly or wrongly, students are required to master a series of mathematical concepts and techniques,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/our-teaching-of-mathematics-revolves-around-a-fundamental-conflict/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [“Something that doesn't actually exist can still be useful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/something-that-doesn-t-actually-exist-can-still-be-useful/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [First is first, and second is nowhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/first-is-first-and-second-is-nowhere/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [Mathematics is the science of patterns, and nature exploits just about every pattern that there is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/mathematics-is-the-science-of-patterns-and-nature-exploits-just-about/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [Two centuries ago Carl Friedrich Gauss, one of the greatest mathematicians and a founder of number theory, described his brainchild as "the queen of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/two-centuries-ago-carl-friedrich-gauss-one-of-the-greatest/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [“Only three constants are significant for star formation: the gravitational constant, the fine structure constant, and a constant that governs nuclear reaction rates.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/only-three-constants-are-significant-for-star-formation-the/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [Chaos is lawless behavior governed entirely by law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/chaos-is-lawless-behavior-governed-entirely-by-law/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [Religion hinges upon faith, politics hinges upon who can tell the most convincing lies or maybe just shout the loudest, but science hinges upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/religion-hinges-upon-faith-politics-hinges-upon-who-can-tell-the-most/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [During the past fifty years, more mathematics has been created than in all previous ages put together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/during-the-past-fifty-years-more-mathematics-has-been-created-than-in/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [The flapping of a single butterfly's wing today produces a tiny change in the state of the atmosphere. Over a period of time, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/the-flapping-of-a-single-butterfly-s-wing-today-produces-a-tiny/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [One of the biggest problems of mathematics is to explain to everyone else what it is all about. The technical trappings of the subject,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/one-of-the-biggest-problems-of-mathematics-is-to-explain-to-everyone/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [To criticize mathematics for its abstraction is to miss the point entirely. Abstraction is what makes mathematics work. If you concentrate too closely on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/to-criticize-mathematics-for-its-abstraction-is-to-miss-the-point/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) > [I don't want to convince you that mathematics is useful. It is, but utility is not the only criterion for value to humanity. Above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-stewart/i-don-t-want-to-convince-you-that-mathematics-is-useful-it-is-but/) [Ian Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) [Explore all 19 Ian Stewart quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-stewart/) ## More Aesthetic quotes > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“Beauty in the European sense has always had a premeditated quality to it. We've always had an aesthetic intention and a long-range plan. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/beauty-in-the-european-sense-has-always-had-a-premeditated-quality-to/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [All efforts to render politics aesthetic culminate in one thing: war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/all-efforts-to-render-politics-aesthetic-culminate-in-one-thing-war/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. But relevance is just as important. I often say, 'If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-behar/design-certainly-has-a-cosmetic-aesthetic-aim-it-always-aims-at/) [Yves Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-behar/) > [I don't think I was ever thinking critically about my aesthetic, I think it's enough when you're little just to understand that you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tavi-gevinson/i-don-t-think-i-was-ever-thinking-critically-about-my-aesthetic-i/) [Tavi Gevinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tavi-gevinson/) > [I'm kind of still down with Virg Woolf on this one: "women must kill the aesthetic ideal through which they themselves have been 'killed'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-m-kind-of-still-down-with-virg-woolf-on-this-one-women-must-kill/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [Virtue is as little to be acquired by learning as genius; nay, the idea is barren, and is only to be employed as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/virtue-is-as-little-to-be-acquired-by-learning-as-genius-nay-the-idea/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [There is a certain aesthetic pleasure in trying to imagine the unimaginable and failing, if you are a reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/there-is-a-certain-aesthetic-pleasure-in-trying-to-imagine-the/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I try to get the hip-hop aesthetic, most times without an MC. I don't use a rapper or a DJ to give it the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-glasper/i-try-to-get-the-hip-hop-aesthetic-most-times-without-an-mc-i-don-t/) [Robert Glasper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-glasper/) > [It's so important what you're doing in your life. It's tremendously important to the work, and no aesthetic theories take that into account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maus/it-s-so-important-what-you-re-doing-in-your-life-it-s-tremendously/) [John Maus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maus/) > [It is not necessary to have an extravagant food budget in order to serve things with variety and tastefully cooked. It is not necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-schaeffer/it-is-not-necessary-to-have-an-extravagant-food-budget-in-order-to/) [Edith Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-schaeffer/) > [In reality no food is valued solely for its nutritive power and no garment or house solely for the protection it affords against cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/in-reality-no-food-is-valued-solely-for-its-nutritive-power-and-no/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Art is realistic when it strives to express an ethical ideal. Realism is striving for truth, and truth is always beautiful. Here the aesthetic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/art-is-realistic-when-it-strives-to-express-an-ethical-ideal-realism/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [I had always wanted to expand to beauty, but I knew I wanted to be able to translate my design aesthetic in an authentic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-ronson/i-had-always-wanted-to-expand-to-beauty-but-i-knew-i-wanted-to-be/) [Charlotte Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-ronson/) > [I wanted the press to become something of a movement. Not a movement committed to a particular 'ism', but a gathering together of writers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-metcalf/i-wanted-the-press-to-become-something-of-a-movement-not-a-movement/) John Metcalf [Browse all 953 Aesthetic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "...a major triumph of mathematical imagination: the use of visual imagery to condense a large quantity of information into a single comprehensible picture... Mathematicians are just beginning to understand these basic building blocks of change and to analyze how they combine. 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