--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And I'll go even further and say that…" description: "\"“And I'll go even further and say that mathematics, this art of abstract pattern-making — even more than storytelling, painting, or music - is our most..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42f/paul-lockhart-18353_art_and-i-ll-go-even-further-and-say-that-ma_811111.jpg" --- # And I'll go even further and say that mathematics, this… ![“And I'll go even further and say that mathematics, this art of abstract pattern-making — even more than storytelling, painting, or music - is our most quintessentially human art form. This is what our brains do, whether we like it or not. We are biochemical pattern-recognition machines and…” quote by Paul Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42f/paul-lockhart-18353_art_and-i-ll-go-even-further-and-say-that-ma_811111.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42f/paul-lockhart-18353_art_and-i-ll-go-even-further-and-say-that-ma_811111.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42f/paul-lockhart-18353_art_and-i-ll-go-even-further-and-say-that-ma_811111.jpg) > ““And I'll go even further and say that mathematics, this art of abstract pattern-making — even more than storytelling, painting, or music - is our most quintessentially human art form. This is what our brains do, whether we like it or not. We are biochemical pattern-recognition machines and mathematics is nothing less than the distilled essence of who we are.”” [Paul Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mathematics is the fundamental human art of recognizing and creating abstract patterns, more innate than other arts. **In simple terms:** Math is our core pattern‑making skill. Key Takeaway Embrace pattern thinking in daily life. Themes creativity human nature abstract thinking Mood reflective inspiring Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - research - problem solving - design - music composition Key Concepts pattern recognition cognitive science artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - How does pattern recognition shape your decisions? - Can math improve creativity in non‑technical fields? A Different Perspective May overlook emotional or cultural aspects of art. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-form/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) ## Related quotes > [Mathematics is the art of explanation. If you deny students the opportunity to engage in this activity-- to pose their own problems, to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/mathematics-is-the-art-of-explanation-if-you-deny-students-the/) [Paul Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/) > [“Mathematics is the art of explanation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/mathematics-is-the-art-of-explanation/) [Paul Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/) > [In mathematics, the art of asking questions is more valuable than solving problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-cantor/in-mathematics-the-art-of-asking-questions-is-more-valuable-than/) [Georg Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-cantor/) > [Perhaps the best reason for regarding mathematics as an art is not so much that it affords an outlet for creative activity as that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-kline/perhaps-the-best-reason-for-regarding-mathematics-as-an-art-is-not-so/) [Morris Kline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-kline/) > [Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-poincare/mathematics-is-the-art-of-giving-the-same-name-to-different-things/) [Henri Poincare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-poincare/) > [Mathematics is an art of human understanding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-thurston/mathematics-is-an-art-of-human-understanding/) [William Thurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-thurston/) > [Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things. \[As opposed to the quotation: Poetry is the art of giving different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-poincare/mathematics-is-the-art-of-giving-the-same-name-to-different-things-as/) [Henri Poincare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-poincare/) > [Mathematics is the art of accurate reasoning on inaccurately-drawn figures... let that be our motto.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-mattuck/mathematics-is-the-art-of-accurate-reasoning-on-inaccurately-drawn/) Arthur Mattuck > [In mathematics the art of proposing a question must be held of higher value than solving it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-cantor/in-mathematics-the-art-of-proposing-a-question-must-be-held-of-higher/) [Georg Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-cantor/) > [Without mathematics there is no art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luca-pacioli/without-mathematics-there-is-no-art/) Luca Pacioli > [Mathematics and art are quite different. We could not publish so many papers that used, repeatedly, the same idea and still command the respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoni-zygmund/mathematics-and-art-are-quite-different-we-could-not-publish-so-many/) Antoni Zygmund > [Most of the arts, as painting, sculpture, and music, have emotional appeal to the general public. This is because these arts can be experienced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelius-lanczos/most-of-the-arts-as-painting-sculpture-and-music-have-emotional/) Cornelius Lanczos > [No mathematician should ever allow himself to forget that mathematics, more than any other art or science, is a young man's game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-h-hardy/no-mathematician-should-ever-allow-himself-to-forget-that-mathematics/) [G. H. Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-h-hardy/) > [ For me it remains an open question whether \[this work\] pertains to the realm of mathematics or to that of art. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-escher/for-me-it-remains-an-open-question-whether-this-work-pertains-to-the/) [M. C. Escher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-escher/) > [Mathematics is only the art of saying the same thing in different words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/mathematics-is-only-the-art-of-saying-the-same-thing-in-different/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) ## More by Paul Lockhart > [So how does one go about proving something like this? It's not like being a lawyer, where the goal is to persuade other people;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/so-how-does-one-go-about-proving-something-like-this-it-s-not-like/) [Paul Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/) > [ \[Math is\] not at all like science. There's no experiment I can do with test tubes and equipment and whatnot that will tell me… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/math-is-not-at-all-like-science-there-s-no-experiment-i-can-do-with/) [Paul Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/) > [“Mathematics is the music of reason . To do mathematics is to engage in an act of discovery and conjecture, intuition and inspiration; to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/mathematics-is-the-music-of-reason-to-do-mathematics-is-to-engage-in/) [Paul Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/) > [I don't see how it's doing society any good to have so many members walking around with vague memories of algebraic formulas and geometric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/i-don-t-see-how-it-s-doing-society-any-good-to-have-so-many-members/) [Paul Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/) > [The thing I want you especially to understand is this feeling of divine revelation. I feel that this structure was "out there" all along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/the-thing-i-want-you-especially-to-understand-is-this-feeling-of/) [Paul Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/) > [Why don't we want our children to learn to do mathematics? Is it that we don't trust them, that we think it's too hard?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/why-don-t-we-want-our-children-to-learn-to-do-mathematics-is-it-that/) [Paul Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/) > [There is nothing as dreamy and poetic, nothing as radical, subversive, and psychedelic, as mathematics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/there-is-nothing-as-dreamy-and-poetic-nothing-as-radical-subversive/) [Paul Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/) > [To do mathematics is to engage in an act of discovery and conjecture, intuition and inspiration; to be in a state of confusion −…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/to-do-mathematics-is-to-engage-in-an-act-of-discovery-and-conjecture/) [Paul Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/) > [A good problem is something you don't know how to solve. That's what makes it a good puzzle and a good opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/a-good-problem-is-something-you-don-t-know-how-to-solve-that-s-what/) [Paul Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/) > [ “\[Students\] are being trained to ape arguments, not to intend them.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/students-are-being-trained-to-ape-arguments-not-to-intend-them/) [Paul Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/) > [ “Be honest: did you actually read \[the above geometric proof\]? Of course not. Who would want to? The effect of such a production being… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/be-honest-did-you-actually-read-the-above-geometric-proof-of-course/) [Paul Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/) > [There is nothing as dreamy and poetic, nothing as radical, subversive, and psychedelic, as mathematics. It is every bit as mind blowing as cosmology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/there-is-nothing-as-dreamy-and-poetic-nothing-as-radical-subversive-2/) [Paul Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/) > [The only thing I am interested in using mathematics for is to have a good time and to help others do the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/the-only-thing-i-am-interested-in-using-mathematics-for-is-to-have-a/) [Paul Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/) > [“This is what it means to do mathematics. To make a discovery (by whatever means, including playing around with physical models like paper, string,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/this-is-what-it-means-to-do-mathematics-to-make-a-discovery-by/) [Paul Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/) > [“Efficiency and economy simply do not make good pedagogy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/efficiency-and-economy-simply-do-not-make-good-pedagogy/) [Paul Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/) [Explore all 33 Paul Lockhart quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And I'll go even further and say that mathematics, this art of abstract pattern-making — even more than storytelling, painting, or music - is our most quintessentially human art form. This is what our brains do, whether we like it or not. We are biochemical pattern-recognition machines and mathematics is nothing less than the distilled essence of who we are.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Lockhart" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/and-i-ll-go-even-further-and-say-that-mathematics-this-art-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/and-i-ll-go-even-further-and-say-that-mathematics-this-art-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42f/paul-lockhart-18353_art_and-i-ll-go-even-further-and-say-that-ma_811111.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42f/paul-lockhart-18353_art_and-i-ll-go-even-further-and-say-that-ma_811111.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42f/paul-lockhart-18353_art_and-i-ll-go-even-further-and-say-that-ma_811111.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And I'll go even further and say that mathematics, this art of abstract pattern-making — even more than…” — Paul Lockhart", "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": "Paul Lockhart", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“And I'll go even further and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/and-i-ll-go-even-further-and-say-that-mathematics-this-art-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/and-i-ll-go-even-further-and-say-that-mathematics-this-art-of/#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 } } ] } ```