One would have to have completely forgotten the history of science so as to not remember that the desire to know nature has had the most constant and the happiest influence on the development of mathematics.

Quote by Henri Poincare

Topics: Henri Poincare Quotes

A sane mind should not be guilty of a logical fallacy, yet there are very...

A sane mind should not be guilty of a logical fallacy, yet there are very...

Geometry is not true, it is advantageous.

Geometry is not true, it is advantageous.

Need we add that mathematicians themselves are not infallible?

Need we add that mathematicians themselves are not infallible?

Absolute space, that is to say, the mark to which it would be necessary to...

Absolute space, that is to say, the mark to which it would be necessary to...

What is it indeed that gives us the feeling of elegance in a solution, in...

What is it indeed that gives us the feeling of elegance in a solution, in...

Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things.

Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things.

The mind uses its faculty for creativity only when experience forces it to do so.

The mind uses its faculty for creativity only when experience forces it to do so.

If one looks at the different problems of the integral calculus which arise naturally when...

If one looks at the different problems of the integral calculus which arise naturally when...

It is far better to foresee even without certainty than not to foresee at all.

It is far better to foresee even without certainty than not to foresee at all.

If we knew exactly the laws of nature and the situation of the universe at...

If we knew exactly the laws of nature and the situation of the universe at...

Ideas rose in clouds; I felt them collide until pairs interlocked, so to speak, making...

Ideas rose in clouds; I felt them collide until pairs interlocked, so to speak, making...

In the old days when people invented a new function they had something useful in...

In the old days when people invented a new function they had something useful in...

Mathematicians do not study objects, but relations between objects.

Mathematicians do not study objects, but relations between objects.

A small error in the former will produce an enormous error in the latter.

A small error in the former will produce an enormous error in the latter.

If that enabled us to predict the succeeding situation with the same approximation, that is...

If that enabled us to predict the succeeding situation with the same approximation, that is...

It is far better to foresee even without certainty than not to foresee at all.

It is far better to foresee even without certainty than not to foresee at all.

A scientist worthy of his name, about all a mathematician, experiences in his work the...

A scientist worthy of his name, about all a mathematician, experiences in his work the...

Mathematical discoveries, small or great are never born of spontaneous generation.

Mathematical discoveries, small or great are never born of spontaneous generation.

To doubt everything, or, to believe everything, are two equally convenient solutions; both dispense with...

To doubt everything, or, to believe everything, are two equally convenient solutions; both dispense with...

Hypotheses are what we lack the least.

Hypotheses are what we lack the least.