I protest against the use of infinite magnitude ..., which is never permissible in mathematics.
Carl Friedrich GaussRead
We must admit with humility that, while number is purely a product of our minds, space has a reality outside our minds, so that we cannot completely prescribe its properties a priori.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the distinction between human-created concepts and the objective reality of space.
Gauss highlights the idea that while numbers and mathematical concepts are inventions of the human mind, space itself is an objective reality that exists independently of our perceptions. This suggests that our understanding of the universe is limited by our mental frameworks, and we must remain humble in recognizing that we cannot fully define or control the properties of space solely through our intellect.
Themes
HumilityRealitySpaceNumberKnowledge
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about the philosophy of mathematics, this quote could illustrate the limits of human understanding.
More from Carl Friedrich Gauss
All quotes →Mathematics is the queen of sciences and number theory is the queen of mathematics. She often condescends to render service to astronomy and other natural sciences, but in all relations she is entitled to the first rank.
Carl Friedrich GaussRead
To praise it would amount to praising myself. For the entire content of the work... coincides almost exactly with my own meditations which have occupied my mind for the past thirty or thirty-five years.
Carl Friedrich GaussRead
The problem of distinguishing prime numbers from composite numbers and of resolving the latter into their prime factors is known to be one of the most important and useful in arithmetic.
Carl Friedrich GaussRead
Life stands before me like an eternal spring with new and brilliant clothes.
Carl Friedrich GaussRead
When I have clarified and exhausted a subject, then I turn away from it, in order to go into darkness again.
Carl Friedrich GaussRead
Similar quotes
No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever.
Thomas JeffersonRead
Glorious indeed is the world of God around us, but more glorious the world of God within us.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
Masonic ideas are the precious jewels of Speculative Masons; the should be kept bright and sparkling for all the brethren to see and to admire. As such, they should be the special care of Masonic leaders particularly those who teach and interpret the philosophy of Freemasonry.
Benjamin FranklinRead
Grassroots groups challenge the "business-as-usual" environmentalism that is generally practiced by the more privileged wildlife-and conservation-oriented groups. The focus of activists of color and their constituents reflects their life experiences of social, economic, and political disenfranchisement.
Robert D BullardRead
We are plain quiet folk, and I have no use for adventures. Nasty, disturbing, and uncomfortable things.
J. R. R. TolkienRead
I think the most important idea is to remember that there have been times throughout American history where what is right is not the same as what is legal.
Edward SnowdenRead