There is no branch of mathematics, however abstract, which may not some day be applied to phenomena of the real world.
Interpretation
Mathematics, no matter how theoretical, can eventually be applied to real-world situations.
This quote by Nikolai Lobachevsky emphasizes the practical implications of mathematics, suggesting that even the most abstract theories can eventually find applications in the real world. It highlights the importance of mathematical research and its potential to solve real-life problems, reminding us that the pursuit of knowledge—no matter how theoretical—has the power to influence and shape our understanding of reality.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of STEM education.
If we could look through the skull into the brain of a consciously thinking person, and if the place of optimal excitability were luminous, then we should see playing over the cerebral surface, a bright spot with fantastic, waving borders constantly fluctuating in size and form, surrounded by a darkness more or less deep, covering the rest of the hemisphere.
If others would but reflect on mathematical truths as deeply and as continuously as I have, they would make my discoveries.
Mathematics is the study of analogies between analogies. All science is. Scientists want to show that things that don't look alike are really the same. That is one of their innermost Freudian motivations. In fact, that is what we mean by understanding.
Sooner or later, we will face a catastrophic threat from space. Of all the possible threats, only a gigantic asteroid hit can destroy the entire planet. If we prepare now, we better our odds of survival. The dinosaurs never knew what hit them.
If your child gets asthma, the fossil fuel industry doesn't pay. Or if there's a natural disaster, the bill is paid by the taxpayer, not the fossil fuel company.
Physics has a history of synthesizing many phenomena into a few theories.
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