“I don't see how it's doing society any good to have it's members walking around with vague memories of algebraic formulas and geometric diagrams, and clear memories of hating them.”

“And I'll go even further and say that mathematics, this art of abstract pattern-making even more than storytelling, painting, or music - is our most quintessentially human art form. This is what o...”

“The thing I want you especially to understand is this feeling of divine revelation. I feel that this structure was "out there" all along I just couldn't see it. And now I can! This is really what k...”

“No mathematician in the world would bother making these senseless distinctions: 2 1/2 is a "mixed number " while 5/2 is an "improper fraction." They're EQUAL for crying out loud. They are the exact...”

“Mental acuity of any kind comes from solving problems yourself, not from being told how to solve them.”

“A good problem is something you don't know how to solve. That's what makes it a good puzzle and a good opportunity.”

“Is there magic in this world? Certainly! But it is not the kind of magic written about in fantasy stories. It is the kind of magic that comes from ideas and the hard work it often takes to make the...”

“We become what we behold. We shape our tools, and thereafter our tools shape us.”

“A culture of unaccountability is a culture without incentive, and a culture without incentive is the death of critical and creative thinking.”

“We need to have an educational system that's able to embrace all sorts of minds, and where a student doesn't have to fit into a certain mold of learning.”

“I wouldn't attach too much importance to these student riots. I remember when I was a student at the Sorbonne in Paris, I used to go out and riot occasionally.”

“The wrong things are predominantly stressed in the schools - things remote from the student's experience and need.”

“Teach him to think for himself? Oh, my God, teach him rather to think like other people!”

“Nature that framed us of four elements, warring within our breasts for regiment, doth teach us all to have aspiring minds.”

“We can teach a lot of things, but if the teacher can't relate by talking to a group of friendly students, he'll never be a competent teacher.”