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
I often don't know what I'll be working on next year or a year from now. There is often a chance meeting, or something that I worked on 10 years ago suddenly becomes important again.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life can be unpredictable, and past experiences may resurface unexpectedly, guiding future opportunities.
This quote by Terence Tao reflects the unpredictable nature of life and career paths. It highlights how we often cannot foresee what will be significant to us in the future, and sometimes, seemingly unrelated past experiences can play a crucial role in shaping our current endeavors. It encourages openness to chance encounters and the idea that all of our experiences contribute to our journey in ways we might not initially understand.
Themes
UnpredictabilityFutureOpportunityExperienceChance
In practice
Example use cases
Use this quote when discussing career paths in a motivational speech.
More from Terence Tao
All quotes →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.
Terence TaoRead
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.
Terence TaoRead
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.
Terence TaoRead
I recall being fascinated by numbers even at age three and viewed their manipulation as a kind of game.
Terence TaoRead
Talent is important, but how one develops and nurtures it is even more so.
Terence TaoRead
Similar quotes
It's not easy to sit and trust that in solitude God will speak to you - not as a magical voice but that God will let you know something gradually over the years. And in that word from God you will find the inner place from which to live your life. Solitude is where spiritual ministry begins. That's where Jesus listened to God. That's where we listen to God.
Henri NouwenRead
The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and the heart of the child.
Ralph Waldo EmersonRead
You must not do, you must not even try to do, the will of the Father unless you are prepared to 'know of the doctrine'.
C. S. LewisRead
The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality.
Samuel JohnsonRead
True, I am young, but for souls nobly born valor doesn't await the passing of years.
Pierre CorneilleRead
I waste most of the day, then finally start to write around 3 P.M., totally disgusted with myself for my wasteful nature.
Alain De BottonRead