--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Math, like meditation, puts you in direct…" description: "\"“Math, like meditation, puts you in direct contact with the universe, which is bigger than you, was here before you, and will be here after you.”\" — Jo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/577/jordan-ellenberg-15468_mathematics_math-like-meditation-puts-you-in-direct_1742785.jpg" --- # Math, like meditation, puts you in direct contact with the… ![“Math, like meditation, puts you in direct contact with the universe, which is bigger than you, was here before you, and will be here after you.” quote by Jordan Ellenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/577/jordan-ellenberg-15468_mathematics_math-like-meditation-puts-you-in-direct_1742785.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/577/jordan-ellenberg-15468_mathematics_math-like-meditation-puts-you-in-direct_1742785.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/577/jordan-ellenberg-15468_mathematics_math-like-meditation-puts-you-in-direct_1742785.jpg) > ““Math, like meditation, puts you in direct contact with the universe, which is bigger than you, was here before you, and will be here after you.”” [Jordan Ellenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-ellenberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mathematics connects us to a vast, timeless universe, offering a meditative perspective beyond personal concerns. **In simple terms:** Math links us to the cosmos. Key Takeaway Embrace math as a meditative practice. Themes science philosophy mindfulness Mood wonder inspired Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - studying math - reflective thinking - seeking purpose - overcoming anxiety Key Concepts cosmology mathematical beauty meditation Questions to Reflect On - How does math change your view of existence? - Can meditation improve mathematical insight? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex scientific concepts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Meditation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meditation/) [Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics/) ## Related quotes > [Meditation puts into question more or less everything you tend to do in your search for happiness. 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My parents just constantly pushed me, in a good way, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simu-liu/i-remember-doing-5th-grade-math-when-i-was-like-seven-years-old-my/) [Simu Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simu-liu/) > [Math is like water. It has a lot of difficult theories, of course, but its basic logic is very simple. Just as water flows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/math-is-like-water-it-has-a-lot-of-difficult-theories-of-course-but/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Phyllis explained to him, trying to give of her deeper self, 'Don't you find it so beautiful, math? Like an endless sheet of gold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/phyllis-explained-to-him-trying-to-give-of-her-deeper-self-don-t-you/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I'm weird: I like science and math but also like English as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazz-jennings/i-m-weird-i-like-science-and-math-but-also-like-english-as-well/) [Jazz Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazz-jennings/) > [Math is like love - a simple idea but it can get complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/math-is-like-love-a-simple-idea-but-it-can-get-complicated/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Math is like going to the gym for your brain. It sharpens your mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danica-mckellar/math-is-like-going-to-the-gym-for-your-brain-it-sharpens-your-mind/) [Danica McKellar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danica-mckellar/) > [Knowledge that one has to get in this whole universe is even bigger than the universe. No one can learn it to a end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiroshana-jayamal/knowledge-that-one-has-to-get-in-this-whole-universe-is-even-bigger/) [Hiroshana Jayamal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiroshana-jayamal/) > [“The universe is bigger than anything that can fit into your mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-dellaira/the-universe-is-bigger-than-anything-that-can-fit-into-your-mind/) [Ava Dellaira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-dellaira/) > [The universe is bigger than our egos and can supply more than our demand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-vitale/the-universe-is-bigger-than-our-egos-and-can-supply-more-than-our/) [Joe Vitale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-vitale/) > [The universe has much bigger plans for you than you ever dreamed of for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/the-universe-has-much-bigger-plans-for-you-than-you-ever-dreamed-of/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [ “\[...\] however big our world is - in our hearts, our minds, and our outsized digital maps - the universe is even bigger. A… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/however-big-our-world-is-in-our-hearts-our-minds-and-our-outsized/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“I’m humble enough to acknowledge that I don’t know the secrets of the universe. I’m no longer chasing faith. I’m chasing truth—and that means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-chercover/i-m-humble-enough-to-acknowledge-that-i-don-t-know-the-secrets-of-the/) [Sean Chercover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-chercover/) ## More by Jordan Ellenberg > [My reading practice is one reason I mostly don't read electronically. Different books are in different rooms of my house, and one is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-ellenberg/my-reading-practice-is-one-reason-i-mostly-don-t-read-electronically/) [Jordan Ellenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-ellenberg/) > [“Knowing mathematics is like wearing a pair of X-ray specs that reveal hidden structures underneath the messy and chaotic surface of the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-ellenberg/knowing-mathematics-is-like-wearing-a-pair-of-x-ray-specs-that-reveal/) [Jordan Ellenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-ellenberg/) > [“numerically flavored advice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-ellenberg/numerically-flavored-advice/) [Jordan Ellenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-ellenberg/) > [“If you decide what color jelly beans to eat based just on the papers that get published, you’re making the same mistake the army…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-ellenberg/if-you-decide-what-color-jelly-beans-to-eat-based-just-on-the-papers/) [Jordan Ellenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-ellenberg/) > [“Risky strategies can be analyzed numerically; uncertain strategies, Ellsberg suggested, were beyond the bounds of formal mathematical analysis”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-ellenberg/risky-strategies-can-be-analyzed-numerically-uncertain-strategies/) [Jordan Ellenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-ellenberg/) > [“Mathematics is common sense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-ellenberg/mathematics-is-common-sense/) [Jordan Ellenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-ellenberg/) > [“if we now feel comfortable rejecting the conclusions of the Witztum study, what does that say about the reliability of our standard statistical tests?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-ellenberg/if-we-now-feel-comfortable-rejecting-the-conclusions-of-the-witztum/) [Jordan Ellenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-ellenberg/) > [“His most famous paradox goes like this. I decide to walk to the ice cream store. Now certainly I can’t get to the ice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-ellenberg/his-most-famous-paradox-goes-like-this-i-decide-to-walk-to-the-ice/) [Jordan Ellenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-ellenberg/) > [“Data is messy, and inference is hard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-ellenberg/data-is-messy-and-inference-is-hard/) [Jordan Ellenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-ellenberg/) > [“Math is a science of not being wrong about things,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-ellenberg/math-is-a-science-of-not-being-wrong-about-things/) [Jordan Ellenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-ellenberg/) > [“scientists and statisticians have already been worrying about them for quite some time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-ellenberg/scientists-and-statisticians-have-already-been-worrying-about-them/) [Jordan Ellenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-ellenberg/) > [“torturing the data until it confesses,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-ellenberg/torturing-the-data-until-it-confesses/) [Jordan Ellenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-ellenberg/) > [“Nonlinear thinking means which way you should go depends on where you already are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-ellenberg/nonlinear-thinking-means-which-way-you-should-go-depends-on-where-you/) [Jordan Ellenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-ellenberg/) > [“Yes, the existence of human life is evidence for the existence of God; but it’s much better evidence that our world was programmed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-ellenberg/yes-the-existence-of-human-life-is-evidence-for-the-existence-of-god/) [Jordan Ellenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-ellenberg/) > [“if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-ellenberg/if-he-fails-at-least-fails-while-daring-greatly/) [Jordan Ellenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-ellenberg/) [Explore all 43 Jordan Ellenberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-ellenberg/) ## More Mathematics quotes > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) > [“π is a mathematician’s dessert”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neve-maslakovic/is-a-mathematician-s-dessert/) Neve Maslakovic > [For the execution of the voyage to the Indies, I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics or maps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-columbus/for-the-execution-of-the-voyage-to-the-indies-i-did-not-make-use-of/) [Christopher Columbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-columbus/) > [Rule number something or other -- never tell anybody anything unless you're going to get something better in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/rule-number-something-or-other-never-tell-anybody-anything-unless-you/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [If enough money is involved and enough people believe that two plus two equals five the media will report the story with a straight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/if-enough-money-is-involved-and-enough-people-believe-that-two-plus/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [There's no reason for men to be better at maths than women - it's just about our perception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-riley/there-s-no-reason-for-men-to-be-better-at-maths-than-women-it-s-just/) [Rachel Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-riley/) > [“I had a chat with May and I had a sweet talk with April but the lovely conversation that left me to ponder was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/i-had-a-chat-with-may-and-i-had-a-sweet-talk-with-april-but-the/) [Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/) > [For a physicist mathematics is not just a tool by means of which phenomena can be calculated, it is the main source of concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/for-a-physicist-mathematics-is-not-just-a-tool-by-means-of-which/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. If it happens that the question which we wish to examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/geometry-which-should-only-obey-physics-when-united-with-it-sometimes/) [Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/) > [In school math and science were my favorite subjects, but I probably in my true self I'm more of a people person. At the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/in-school-math-and-science-were-my-favorite-subjects-but-i-probably/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [“How in the world did I ever find you?” Mackenzie Winters “Math class.” Brandon Knight”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-jeanisse/how-in-the-world-did-i-ever-find-you-mackenzie-winters-math-class/) [Bella Jeanisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-jeanisse/) > [“One is the notion that knowledge is worth acquiring, all knowledge, and that a solid grounding in mathematics provides one with the essential language…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-patterson-jr/one-is-the-notion-that-knowledge-is-worth-acquiring-all-knowledge-and/) [William H. Patterson Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-patterson-jr/) > [The mathematical facts worthy of being studied are those which, by their analogy with other facts, are capable of leading us to the knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-poincare/the-mathematical-facts-worthy-of-being-studied-are-those-which-by/) [Henri Poincare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-poincare/) > [“When one day Lagrange took out of his pocket a paper which he read at the Académe, and which contained a demonstration of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-biot/when-one-day-lagrange-took-out-of-his-pocket-a-paper-which-he-read-at/) Jean-Baptiste Biot > [“We are not told, or not told early enough so that it sinks in, that mathematics is a language, and that we can learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-j-adler/we-are-not-told-or-not-told-early-enough-so-that-it-sinks-in-that/) [Mortimer J. Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-j-adler/) [Browse all 5,382 Mathematics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Math, like meditation, puts you in direct contact with the universe, which is bigger than you, was here before you, and will be here after you.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jordan Ellenberg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-ellenberg/math-like-meditation-puts-you-in-direct-contact-with-the-universe/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Mathematics" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-ellenberg/math-like-meditation-puts-you-in-direct-contact-with-the-universe/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/577/jordan-ellenberg-15468_mathematics_math-like-meditation-puts-you-in-direct_1742785.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/577/jordan-ellenberg-15468_mathematics_math-like-meditation-puts-you-in-direct_1742785.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/577/jordan-ellenberg-15468_mathematics_math-like-meditation-puts-you-in-direct_1742785.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Math, like meditation, puts you in direct contact with the universe, which is bigger than you, was here…” — Jordan Ellenberg", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jordan Ellenberg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-ellenberg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Math, like meditation, puts you in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-ellenberg/math-like-meditation-puts-you-in-direct-contact-with-the-universe/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-ellenberg/math-like-meditation-puts-you-in-direct-contact-with-the-universe/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```