--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is true that a mathematician who is…" description: "\"“It is true that a mathematician who is not somewhat of a poet, will never be a perfect mathematician.”\" — Karl Weierstrass" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/karl-weierstrass-84941_mathematician_it-is-true-that-a-mathematician-who-is-n_1998486.png" --- # It is true that a mathematician who is not somewhat of a… ![“It is true that a mathematician who is not somewhat of a poet, will never be a perfect mathematician.” quote by Karl Weierstrass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/karl-weierstrass-84941_mathematician_it-is-true-that-a-mathematician-who-is-n_1998486.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/karl-weierstrass-84941_mathematician_it-is-true-that-a-mathematician-who-is-n_1998486.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/karl-weierstrass-84941_mathematician_it-is-true-that-a-mathematician-who-is-n_1998486.png) > ““It is true that a mathematician who is not somewhat of a poet, will never be a perfect mathematician.”” Karl Weierstrass ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mathematics requires poetic imagination; without it, a mathematician cannot achieve true mastery. **In simple terms:** Math needs poetic insight. Key Takeaway Cultivate creativity in mathematical work. Themes mathematics creativity poetry Mood thoughtful inspired Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - research - teaching - problem solving Key Concepts intuition abstract thinking Questions to Reflect On - How does poetic thinking enhance problem solving? - Can mathematics thrive without artistic influence? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on poetry may neglect rigor. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mathematician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematician/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Perfection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfection/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [A mathematician who is not also something of a poet will never be a complete mathematician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-weierstrass/a-mathematician-who-is-not-also-something-of-a-poet-will-never-be-a/) Karl Weierstrass > [Some humans are mathematicians-others aren't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/some-humans-are-mathematicians-others-aren-t/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [In mathematics, if I find a new approach to a problem, another mathematician might claim that he has a better, more elegant solution. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-lasker/in-mathematics-if-i-find-a-new-approach-to-a-problem-another/) [Emanuel Lasker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-lasker/) > [Being a mathematician is a bit like being a manic depressive: you spend your life alternating between giddy elation and black despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-g-krantz/being-a-mathematician-is-a-bit-like-being-a-manic-depressive-you/) Steven G. Krantz > [As for mathematicians themselves: don't expect too much help. Most of them are too far removed in their ivory towers to take up such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apostolos-doxiadis/as-for-mathematicians-themselves-don-t-expect-too-much-help-most-of/) [Apostolos Doxiadis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apostolos-doxiadis/) > [If you ask ... the man in the street ... the human significance of mathematics, the answer of the world will be, that mathematics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassius-jackson-keyser/if-you-ask-the-man-in-the-street-the-human-significance-of/) [Cassius Jackson Keyser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassius-jackson-keyser/) > [“Et peut-être la posterité me saura gré de lui avoir fait connaître que les Anciens n’ont pas tout su. ( And perhaps, posterity will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-de-fermat/et-peut-tre-la-posterit-me-saura-gr-de-lui-avoir-fait-conna-tre-que/) [Pierre De Fermat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-de-fermat/) > [Every man who is not a monster, a mathematician, or a mad philosopher, is the slave of some woman or other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/every-man-who-is-not-a-monster-a-mathematician-or-a-mad-philosopher/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Autism is a big continuum, going from someone who remains nonverbal, all the way up to geniuses on Silicon Valley. And some kids are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/autism-is-a-big-continuum-going-from-someone-who-remains-nonverbal/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [God is the original Mathematician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frenchqueen/god-is-the-original-mathematician/) Frenchqueen > [“I am a mathematician and I can confidently say that the best figure ever produced is your phone number.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/i-am-a-mathematician-and-i-can-confidently-say-that-the-best-figure/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Truth is much too complicated to allow anything but approximations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-von-neumann/truth-is-much-too-complicated-to-allow-anything-but-approximations/) [John von Neumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-von-neumann/) > [Proof is an idol before which the mathematician tortures himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-eddington/proof-is-an-idol-before-which-the-mathematician-tortures-himself/) [Arthur Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-eddington/) > [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/) > [“π is a mathematician’s dessert”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neve-maslakovic/is-a-mathematician-s-dessert/) Neve Maslakovic ## More by Karl Weierstrass > [ It is self-evident that any and all paths must be open to a researcher during the actual course of his \[or her\] investigations. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-weierstrass/it-is-self-evident-that-any-and-all-paths-must-be-open-to-a/) Karl Weierstrass > [A mathematician who is not also something of a poet will never be a complete mathematician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-weierstrass/a-mathematician-who-is-not-also-something-of-a-poet-will-never-be-a/) Karl Weierstrass Explore all 3 Karl Weierstrass quotes ## More Mathematician quotes > [“π is a mathematician’s dessert”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neve-maslakovic/is-a-mathematician-s-dessert/) Neve Maslakovic > [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/) > [Proof is an idol before which the mathematician tortures himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-eddington/proof-is-an-idol-before-which-the-mathematician-tortures-himself/) [Arthur Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-eddington/) > [Truth is much too complicated to allow anything but approximations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-von-neumann/truth-is-much-too-complicated-to-allow-anything-but-approximations/) [John von Neumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-von-neumann/) > [“I am a mathematician and I can confidently say that the best figure ever produced is your phone number.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/i-am-a-mathematician-and-i-can-confidently-say-that-the-best-figure/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [God is the original Mathematician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frenchqueen/god-is-the-original-mathematician/) Frenchqueen > [Autism is a big continuum, going from someone who remains nonverbal, all the way up to geniuses on Silicon Valley. And some kids are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/autism-is-a-big-continuum-going-from-someone-who-remains-nonverbal/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [Every man who is not a monster, a mathematician, or a mad philosopher, is the slave of some woman or other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/every-man-who-is-not-a-monster-a-mathematician-or-a-mad-philosopher/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Et peut-être la posterité me saura gré de lui avoir fait connaître que les Anciens n’ont pas tout su. ( And perhaps, posterity will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-de-fermat/et-peut-tre-la-posterit-me-saura-gr-de-lui-avoir-fait-conna-tre-que/) [Pierre De Fermat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-de-fermat/) > [If you ask ... the man in the street ... the human significance of mathematics, the answer of the world will be, that mathematics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassius-jackson-keyser/if-you-ask-the-man-in-the-street-the-human-significance-of/) [Cassius Jackson Keyser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassius-jackson-keyser/) > [As for mathematicians themselves: don't expect too much help. Most of them are too far removed in their ivory towers to take up such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apostolos-doxiadis/as-for-mathematicians-themselves-don-t-expect-too-much-help-most-of/) [Apostolos Doxiadis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apostolos-doxiadis/) > [Being a mathematician is a bit like being a manic depressive: you spend your life alternating between giddy elation and black despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-g-krantz/being-a-mathematician-is-a-bit-like-being-a-manic-depressive-you/) Steven G. Krantz > [In mathematics, if I find a new approach to a problem, another mathematician might claim that he has a better, more elegant solution. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-lasker/in-mathematics-if-i-find-a-new-approach-to-a-problem-another/) [Emanuel Lasker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-lasker/) > [Some humans are mathematicians-others aren't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/some-humans-are-mathematicians-others-aren-t/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [No form of art repeats or imitates successfully all that can be said by another; the writer conveys his experience of life along a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/storm-jameson/no-form-of-art-repeats-or-imitates-successfully-all-that-can-be-said/) [Storm Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/storm-jameson/) [Browse all 676 Mathematician quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematician/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is true that a mathematician who is not somewhat of a poet, will never be a perfect mathematician.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Karl Weierstrass" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-weierstrass/it-is-true-that-a-mathematician-who-is-not-somewhat-of-a-poet-will/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Mathematician" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-weierstrass/it-is-true-that-a-mathematician-who-is-not-somewhat-of-a-poet-will/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/karl-weierstrass-84941_mathematician_it-is-true-that-a-mathematician-who-is-n_1998486.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/karl-weierstrass-84941_mathematician_it-is-true-that-a-mathematician-who-is-n_1998486.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96b/karl-weierstrass-84941_mathematician_it-is-true-that-a-mathematician-who-is-n_1998486.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is true that a mathematician who is not somewhat of a poet, will never be a perfect mathematician.” — Karl Weierstrass", "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": "Karl Weierstrass", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-weierstrass/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It is true that a mathematician...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-weierstrass/it-is-true-that-a-mathematician-who-is-not-somewhat-of-a-poet-will/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-weierstrass/it-is-true-that-a-mathematician-who-is-not-somewhat-of-a-poet-will/#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 } } ] } ```