It is possible for a mathematician to be "too strong" for a given occasion. He forces through, where … - John Edensor Littlewood

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Our enemy is motivated by hatred and will not stop planning more plots against until they are ultimately defeated. Today was an important and necessary victory in the war, but there is a long road ahead. We must remain committed if we are to succeed and protect our liberty.

John Edensor Littlewood

It is possible for a mathematician to be "too strong" for a given occasion. He forces through, where another might be driven to a different, and possible more fruitful, approach. (So a rock climber might force a dreadful crack, instead of finding a subtle and delicate route. )

Different, Fruitful, Mathematician, Possible, Rocks, Strong

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Before creation, God did just pure mathematics. Then He thought it would be a pleasant change to do some applied.

Change, Creation, Mathematics, Thought, Would Be

I read in the proof sheets of Hardy on Ramanujan: "As someone said, each of the positive integers was one of his personal friends. " My reaction was, "I wonder who said that; I wish I had. " In the next proof-sheets I read (what now stands), "It was Littlewood who said. . . "

Friendship, Hardy, Math, Said, Wish, Wonder

Try a hard problem. You may not solve it, but you will prove something else.

Hard, May, Problem, Solve, Trying

The first test of potential in mathematics is whether you can get anything out of geometry.

Firsts, Geometry, Mathematics, Potential, Test, Tests

It is true that I should have been surprised in the past to learn that Professor Hardy had joined the Oxford Group. But one could not say the adverse chance was 1:10. Mathematics is a dangerous profession; an appreciable proportion of us go mad, and then this particular event would be quite likely.

Hardy, Learn, Learning, Math, Past, Professor