Eugene Wigner wrote a famous essay on the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in natural sciences. He meant physics, … - Israel Gelfand

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Charlie whistled "Amazing Grace" as he drove. It was all I could do not to whip my head around and snap, Are you kidding me? Couldn't he pick something more appropriate, like "Shout at the Devil" or "Don't fear the Reaper"? Some people had no sense of the proper music for a kidnapping.

Israel Gelfand

Eugene Wigner wrote a famous essay on the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in natural sciences. He meant physics, of course. There is only one thing which is more unreasonable than the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in physics, and this is the unreasonable ineffectiveness of mathematics in biology.

Biology, Effectiveness, Mathematics, Physics, Thing

Same Author Quotes

People think they don’t understand math, but it’s all about how you explain it to them. If you ask a drunkard what number is larger, 2
3 or 3
5, he won’t be able to tell you. But if you rephrase the question: what is better, 2 bottles of vodka for 3 people or 3 bottles of vodka for 5 people, he will tell you right away: 2 bottles for 3 people, of course.

Drunkard, Math, Numbers, Right, Thinking, Wont

People (or students) do not have shortcomings, only uniquenesses. The goal of a good teacher is to turn these uniquenesses into advantages.

Goal, Good, People, Teacher, Turn

I used to say: "Everything is Representation Theory". Now I say: "Nothing is Representation Theory".

Everything, Mathematics, Representation, Science, Theory, Used

My life may be encapsulated by one of Graham Greene's "entertainments" titles: 'Loser Takes All'. Since I was thrown out of highschool for political reasons, I was free to study on my own and develop my own ways of thinking.

Life, Political, Science, Takes, Thinking, Titles

One of the reasons we don't do as well as we should is that we are all over-taught.

Reason, Reasons, Science, Taught