--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People think they don’t understand math…" description: "\"People think they don’t understand math, but it’s all about how you explain it to them. If you ask a drunkard what number is larger, 2/3 or 3/5, he won..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/israel-gelfand-37964_able_people-think-they-don-t-understand-math_2099187.jpg" --- # People think they don’t understand math, but it’s all… ![“People think they don’t understand math, but it’s all about how you explain it to them. If you ask a drunkard what number is larger, 2/3 or 3/5, he won’t be able to tell you. But if you rephrase the question: what is better, 2 bottles of vodka for 3 people or 3 bottles of vodka for 5 people, he…” quote by Israel Gelfand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/israel-gelfand-37964_able_people-think-they-don-t-understand-math_2099187.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/israel-gelfand-37964_able_people-think-they-don-t-understand-math_2099187.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ca/israel-gelfand-37964_able_people-think-they-don-t-understand-math_2099187.jpg) > “People think they don’t understand math, but it’s all about how you explain it to them. If you ask a drunkard what number is larger, 2/3 or 3/5, he won’t be able to tell you. But if you rephrase the question: what is better, 2 bottles of vodka for 3 people or 3 bottles of vodka for 5 people, he will tell you right away: 2 bottles for 3 people, of course.” [Israel Gelfand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israel-gelfand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Illustrates that framing problems in relatable terms makes complex ideas understandable. **In simple terms:** Explain simply to teach. Key Takeaway Use everyday analogies. Themes education communication clarity Mood thoughtful instructive Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - teaching math - public speaking - writing guides Key Concepts pedagogy cognitive framing Questions to Reflect On - How can you rephrase a hard concept? - When does simplification fail? A Different Perspective Complex topics may still need depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Math](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/math/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wine/) ## Related quotes > [I love people-watching at the clubs in Los Angeles, where girls make fools of themselves and guys pay thousands of dollars for a couple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-collins/i-love-people-watching-at-the-clubs-in-los-angeles-where-girls-make/) [Jackie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-collins/) > [This is the excellent foppery of the world, that, when we are sick in fortune,--often the surfeit of our own behavior,--we make guilty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/this-is-the-excellent-foppery-of-the-world-that-when-we-are-sick-in/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge. It makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-is-nothing-in-the-world-more-helpless-and-irresponsible-and/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Everyone knows that drunkards and lovers have a protecting diety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/everyone-knows-that-drunkards-and-lovers-have-a-protecting-diety/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“These are the words of a fool: I am happy to be a fool, for i won't spend my time gazing at lines difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/these-are-the-words-of-a-fool-i-am-happy-to-be-a-fool-for-i-won-t/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [A teetotaler would regard it as his duty to associate with his drunkard brother for the purpose of weaning him from the evil habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/a-teetotaler-would-regard-it-as-his-duty-to-associate-with-his/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Some people miss flesh as a drunkard misses his dram.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/some-people-miss-flesh-as-a-drunkard-misses-his-dram/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [If the impure and the unjust, the drunkard and the licentious, are loathsome to us, what must be the infinite loathing of an infinitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/if-the-impure-and-the-unjust-the-drunkard-and-the-licentious-are/) [Lyman Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-abbott/) > [“Down Where the Drunkards Roll.” “How”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-rankin/down-where-the-drunkards-roll-how/) [Ian Rankin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-rankin/) > [Sometimes I wish I was just a simple drunkard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-morrissey/sometimes-i-wish-i-was-just-a-simple-drunkard/) [Steven Morrissey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-morrissey/) > [Before the Roman came to Rye or out to severn strode, / The rolling English drunkard made the rolling English road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/before-the-roman-came-to-rye-or-out-to-severn-strode-the-rolling/) [Gilbert K. 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I believe that non-commutative algebra…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-gelfand/they-have-the-idea-that-non-commutative-algebra-should-remind-one-of/) [Israel Gelfand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israel-gelfand/) > [The older I get, the more I believe that at the bottom of most deep mathematical problems there is a combinatorial problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-gelfand/the-older-i-get-the-more-i-believe-that-at-the-bottom-of-most-deep/) [Israel Gelfand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israel-gelfand/) > [In the Middle Age, in Germany, if you wanted to learn addition and multiplication, you could go to any university. But if you wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-gelfand/in-the-middle-age-in-germany-if-you-wanted-to-learn-addition-and/) [Israel Gelfand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israel-gelfand/) > [Eugene Wigner wrote a famous essay on the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in natural sciences. He meant physics, of course. There is only one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-gelfand/eugene-wigner-wrote-a-famous-essay-on-the-unreasonable-effectiveness/) [Israel Gelfand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israel-gelfand/) > [One of the reasons we don't do as well as we should is that we are all over-taught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-gelfand/one-of-the-reasons-we-don-t-do-as-well-as-we-should-is-that-we-are/) [Israel Gelfand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israel-gelfand/) > [If you understand something, you understand that it is obvious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-gelfand/if-you-understand-something-you-understand-that-it-is-obvious/) [Israel Gelfand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israel-gelfand/) > [I used to say: "Everything is Representation Theory". Now I say: "Nothing is Representation Theory".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-gelfand/i-used-to-say-everything-is-representation-theory-now-i-say-nothing/) [Israel Gelfand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israel-gelfand/) > [People (or students) do not have shortcomings, only uniquenesses. The goal of a good teacher is to turn these uniquenesses into advantages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-gelfand/people-or-students-do-not-have-shortcomings-only-uniquenesses-the/) [Israel Gelfand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israel-gelfand/) > [My life may be encapsulated by one of Graham Greene's "entertainments" titles: 'Loser Takes All'. Since I was thrown out of highschool for political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-gelfand/my-life-may-be-encapsulated-by-one-of-graham-greene-s-entertainments/) [Israel Gelfand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israel-gelfand/) > [My seminar is for highschool students, decent undergraduates, bright graduates, and outstanding professors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-gelfand/my-seminar-is-for-highschool-students-decent-undergraduates-bright/) [Israel Gelfand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israel-gelfand/) > [... The approach of von Neumann and Connes to the use of non-commutative algebra in physics is naive, the situation is much more complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-gelfand/the-approach-of-von-neumann-and-connes-to-the-use-of-non-commutative/) [Israel Gelfand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israel-gelfand/) [Explore all 12 Israel Gelfand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israel-gelfand/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. 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And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. 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