Decided Quote by Richard P. Feynman
“We decided that 'trivial' means 'proved'. So we joked with the mathematicians: We have a new theorem- that mathematicians can prove only trivial theorems, because every theorem that's proved is trivial.”
About This Quote
Source Lecture: The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, 1981
Mathematicians only prove theorems that are already trivial because proof makes them trivial.
In simple terms: Proof turns statements into trivialities.
Key Takeaway
Question what is truly new in mathematics.
Themes
mathematics
logic
triviality
proof
philosophy
Mood
playful
thought‑provoking
Type
philosophical
educational
When to use this quote
- research
- teaching
- theoretical work
- philosophical debate
Key Concepts
Foundations of mathematics
epistemology
meta‑logic
Questions to Reflect On
- What makes a theorem non‑trivial?
- How does proof change perception of a statement?
A Different Perspective
Not all trivial theorems are uninteresting.
![“In 1975, ... [speaking with Shiing Shen Chern], I told him I had finally learned ... the beauty of fiber-bundle theory and the profound Chern-Weil theorem. I said I found it amazing that gauge fields are exactly connections on fiber bundles, which the mathematicians developed without reference to…” quote by Chen-Ning Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/106/chen-ning-yang-73190_beautiful_in-1975-speaking-with-shiing-shen-chern_129052.jpg)
