Mathematics Quote by John Von Neumann
“A large part of mathematics which becomes useful developed with absolutely no desire to be useful, and in a situation where nobody could possibly know in what area it would become useful; and there were no general indications that it ever would be so. By and large it is uniformly true in mathematics that there is a time lapse between a mathematical discovery and the moment when it is useful; and that this lapse of time can be anything from 30 to 100 years, in some cases even more; and that the whole system seems to function without any direction, without any reference to usefulness, and without any desire to do things which are useful.”
About This Quote
Source Lecture: Remarks on the Role of Mathematics, 1955
Mathematical ideas often arise without any practical aim and may take decades before they find application, showing that progress follows its own internal logic rather than external utility.
In simple terms: Math can be useful long after it’s created.
Key Takeaway
Value curiosity, not immediate usefulness.
Themes
creativity
patience
unpredictability
Mood
thoughtful
inquisitive
Type
philosophical
reflective
When to use this quote
- research funding
- educational curricula
- long‑term technology planning
- interdisciplinary collaboration
Key Concepts
pure mathematics
serendipity
knowledge diffusion
Questions to Reflect On
- What current research seems “useless” today might become essential tomorrow?
- How can we balance support for pure and applied work?
A Different Perspective
Not all discoveries become useful, and some may never find application.
![“Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. If it happens that the question which we wish to examine is too complicated for all the elements to be able to enter into the analytical comparison we wish to make, we separate the more inconvenient [elements], we…” quote by Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/0d9/jean-le-rond-d-alembert-26487_able_geometry-which-should-only-obey-physics_6945.jpg)
