I do not remember having felt, as a boy, any passion for mathematics, and such notions as I may have had of the career of a mathematician were far from noble. I thought of mathematics in terms of examinations and scholarships: I wanted to beat other boys, and this seemed to be the way in which I could do so most decisively.
Merely to stuff the child with a lot of information, making him pass examinations, is the most unintelligent form of education.
Look at the number of cop shows and lawyer shows and forensics shows. . . I think there could be room for two quite different examinations of the same political office.
Great success in examinations does naturally not as a rule go with originality of thought.
Actually, most mathematics courses do not teach reasoning of any kind. Students are so baffled by the material that they are obliged to memorize in order to pass examinations.
Mel [Bochner] sets a very high standard. He expects only the best and most thoughtful and rigorous examinations, not only of the history of art but your own practice.
If we did not bring to the examinations of our instincts a knowledge of their comparative dignity we could never learn it from them.
In examinations the foolish ask questions that the wise cannot answer.
