Richard P. Feynman Quotes About Mathematics

Quotes about: Mathematics

• To those who do not know mathematics it is difficult to get across a real feeling as to the beauty, the deepest beauty, of nature ... If you want to learn about nature, to appreciate nature, it is necessary to understand the language that she speaks in.

  Richard P. Feynman

  Nature, Real, Learning

  The Character of Physical Law ch. 2 (1965)

• Mathematics is not just a language. Mathematics is a language plus reasoning.

  Richard P. Feynman

  Language, Mathematics, Plus

  "The Character of Physical Law". Book by Richard P. Feynman, 1965.

• The truth always turns out to be simpler than you thought.

  Richard P. Feynman

  Truth, Science, Simplicity

  "Sympathetic Vibrations: Reflections on Physics as a Way of Life". Book by K. C. Cole, 1985.

• One cannot understand... the universality of laws of nature, the relationship of things, without an understanding of mathematics. There is no other way to do it.

  Richard P. Feynman

  Law, Understanding, Way

• There is no harm in doubt and skepticism, for it is through these that new discoveries are made.

  Richard P. Feynman

  Science, Discovery, Doubt

  Richard P. Feynman (2015). “The Quotable Feynman”, p.290, Princeton University Press

• We decided that 'trivial' means 'proved'. So we joked with the mathematicians: We have a new theorem- that mathematicians can prove only trivial theorems, because every theorem that's proved is trivial.

  Richard P. Feynman

  Mean, Science, Mathematics

  Richard P Feynman (2014). “Surely You're Joking Mr Feynman: Adventures of a Curious Character as Told to Ralph Leighton”, p.84, Random House

• Mathematics is a language plus reasoning. It's like a language plus logic. Mathematics is a tool for reasoning.

  Richard P. Feynman

  Tools, Logic, Language

  "The Character of Physical Law". Book by Richard P. Feynman, 1965.

• There was a time when the newspapers said that only twelve men understood the theory of relativity. I do not believe there ever was such a time ... On the other hand, I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics.

  Richard P. Feynman

  Believe, Men, Thinking

  The Character of Physical Law ch. 6 (1965)

• You see, the chemists have a complicated way of counting: instead of saying "one, two, three, four, five protons", they say, "hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron."

  Richard P. Feynman

  Two, Numbers, Three

  Richard P. Feynman (2014). “QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter”, p.113, Princeton University Press

• Everybody who reasons carefully about anything is making a contribution ... and if you abstract it away and send it to the Department of Mathematics they put it in books.

  Richard P. Feynman

  Book, Reason, Mathematics

• Some things that satisfy the rules of algebra can be interesting to mathematicians even though they don't always represent a real situation.

  Richard P. Feynman

  Real, Interesting, Mathematics

  Richard P. Feynman (2014). “QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter”, p.63, Princeton University Press

• Thus we can get the correct answer for the probability of partial reflection by imagining (falsely) that all reflection comes from only the front and back surfaces. In this intuitively easy analysis, the 'front surface' and 'back surface' arrows are mathematical constructions that give us the right answer, whereas .... a more accurate representation of what is really going on: partial reflection is the scattering of light by electrons inside the glass.

  Richard P. Feynman

  Reflection, Arrows, Glasses

• One does not, by knowing all the physical laws as we know them today, immediately obtain an understanding of anything much. I love only nature, and I hate mathematicians.

  Richard P. Feynman

  Hate, Law, Knowing

• This is not very important what I'm doing. I'm just proving something.

  Richard P. Feynman

  Science, Important, Mathematics

• If all of mathematics disappeared, physics would be set back by exactly one week.

  Richard P. Feynman

  Would Be, Physics, Week

• ... it is impossible to explain honestly the beauties of the laws of nature in a way that people can feel, without their having some deep understanding of mathematics. I am sorry, but this seems to be the case.

  Richard P. Feynman

  Sorry, Science, Law

• People who wish to analyze nature without using mathematics must settle for a reduced understanding.

  Richard P. Feynman

  People, Understanding, Wish

  Biography/Personal Quotes, www.imdb.com.

• Just as a poet often has license from the rules of grammar and pronunciation, we should like to ask for 'physicists' license from the rules of mathematics in order to express what we wish to say in as simple a manner as possible.

  Richard P. Feynman

  Simple, Order, Wish

• If there is something very slightly wrong in our definition of the theories, then the full mathematical rigor may convert these errors into ridiculous conclusions.

  Richard P. Feynman

  Science, Errors, May

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