I still remember the realization in college at Flinders University in Australia that mathematics was not just an abstract game of symbols but could be used as a tool to analyze and understand the modern world.
Terence TaoRead
If I experiment enough, I get a deeper understanding.
Interpretation
Experimentation leads to deeper understanding and knowledge.
This quote by Terence Tao highlights the importance of experimentation in the pursuit of knowledge. It suggests that through trial and error, one can gain profound insights and a more thorough comprehension of complex concepts, illustrating how active engagement in learning enhances our understanding.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a science workshop to emphasize the value of hands-on experiments.
I still remember the realization in college at Flinders University in Australia that mathematics was not just an abstract game of symbols but could be used as a tool to analyze and understand the modern world.
Most students who take math classes aren't going to be mathematicians. They're going to be engineers, statisticians - in many ways, that's the more important mission of math education.
For me, I guess the main motivation is the satisfaction of finally understanding some tricky mathematical concept or phenomenon and then explaining it to others.
One can think of any given axiom system as being like a computer with a certain limited amount of memory or processing power. One could switch to a computer with even more storage, but no matter how large an amount of storage space the computer has, there will still exist some tasks that are beyond its ability.
I recall being fascinated by numbers even at age three and viewed their manipulation as a kind of game.
Talent is important, but how one develops and nurtures it is even more so.
It is important that man dreams, but it is perhaps equally important that he can laugh at his own dreams.
All men's gains are the fruit of venturing.
... one doesn't want to read badly any more than live badly, since time will not relent. I don't know that we owe God or nature a death, but nature will collect anyway, and we certainly owe mediocrity nothing, whatever collectivity it purports to advance or at least represent.
Habit is the nursery of errors.
Men become wise just as they become rich, more by what they save than by what they receive.
The point isnβt to live without any regrets. The point is to not hate ourselves for having them.
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