Couple Quote by Keith Devlin
![“Sure, some [teachers] could give the standard limit definitions, but they [the students] clearly did not understand the definitions - and it would be a remarkable student who did, since it took mathematicians a couple of thousand years to sort out the notion of a limit, and I think most of us who…” quote by Keith Devlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bfe/keith-devlin-19829_couple_sure-some-teachers-could-give-the-standa_2383287.jpg)
“Sure, some [teachers] could give the standard limit definitions, but they [the students] clearly did not understand the definitions - and it would be a remarkable student who did, since it took mathematicians a couple of thousand years to sort out the notion of a limit, and I think most of us who call ourselves professional mathematicians really only understand it when we start to teach the stuff, either in graduate school or beyond.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: Talk on teaching mathematics, 2015
Students often recite definitions without grasping underlying concepts, revealing gaps in deep understanding.
In simple terms: Students may repeat definitions without truly understanding them.
Key Takeaway
Focus on conceptual insight, not just formal definitions.
Themes
education
mathematics
understanding
teaching
learning
Mood
reflective
analytical
Type
educational
pedagogical
When to use this quote
- lecture planning
- student tutoring
- curriculum design
- assessment
- professional development
Key Concepts
conceptual grasp
pedagogy
epistemology
Questions to Reflect On
- How can educators assess true conceptual understanding?
- What strategies promote deep comprehension?
A Different Perspective
Students may still memorize without internalizing meaning.
![“I saw the first one [video with Hans Rosling ] when he did - I think it was his first one - in 2006, a TED Talk. And for the first time in my life, I thought here's someone who can take statistics that most people regard as dull and boring and bring it alive.” quote by Keith Devlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f8c/keith-devlin-19829_alive_i-saw-the-first-one-video-with-hans-rosl_101875.jpg)
![“Hans Rosling typically would go into the room, and he would ask the audience questions. Often they had to answer them with clickers or raising their hands or something. We get [data] wrong because 50 years ago that wasn't the case and because we haven't had these graphics we don't realize that…” quote by Keith Devlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/740/keith-devlin-19829_answers_hans-rosling-typically-would-go-into-the_518165.jpg)
![“Some of the justifiable critiques has been by - been so successful in telling this story, you know, there's a danger of saying, oh, well, you know, we don't need to worry about this because that's absolutely not the case. What [Hans] Rosling is doing is showing us an overall global trend, which in…” quote by Keith Devlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3dd/keith-devlin-19829_bad-thing_some-of-the-justifiable-critiques-has-be_763450.jpg)
![“In fact, we tend to think things have been getting much worse. In fact, over the last 50 years, almost everything in the world on a global scale has got better. And the way that Hans [ Rosling] did this - it was very good.” quote by Keith Devlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/473/keith-devlin-19829_facts_in-fact-we-tend-to-think-things-have-bee_1076728.jpg)
![“In fact, when you try to use [Hans Rosling] data to predict the future, all sorts of problems arise. But what it does do is say, hey, just catch your breath a minute and see what's really been going on. We do have reason to feel good about the fact we've made progress.” quote by Keith Devlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/1a8/keith-devlin-19829_arise_in-fact-when-you-try-to-use-hans-rosling_1084549.jpg)
