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
There might be a hidden structure in pi that we simply haven't discovered.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that pi may hold unknown patterns or structures yet to be uncovered.
This quote by Terence Tao reflects the idea that even established mathematical constants like pi can have layers of complexity that are not fully understood. It encourages the pursuit of deeper knowledge and exploration in mathematics, as there could be significant discoveries waiting to be made within familiar concepts.
In practice
This quote could be used in a mathematics lecture to inspire students about the complexities of mathematical constants.
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.
Science, at bottom, is really anti-intellectual. It always distrusts pure reason, and demands the production of objective fact.
I still hear some people say that science takes the wonder out of life. Those people are utterly wrong. Science takes us to the wonder
We're moving from reading the genetic code to writing it.
Psychological factors are critical in supporting immune function. If you suppress this psychological support by telling someone he's condemned to die, your words alone will have condemned him.
It is foolish to claim, as some do, that emigration into space offers a long-term escape from Earth's problems. Nowhere in our solar system offers an environment even as clement as the Antarctic or the top of Everest.
Scientists who think science consists of unprejudiced data-gathering without speculation are merely cows grazing on the pasture of knowledge.
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