If one were to bring ten of the wisest men in the world together and ask them what was the most stupid thing in existence, they would not be able to discover anything so stupid as astrology.
David HilbertRead
I do not see that the sex of the candidate is an argument against her admission as a Privatdozent. After all, the Senate is not a bathhouse. Objecting to sex discrimination being the reason for rejection of Emmy Noether's application to join the faculty at the University of Gottingen.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The sex of a candidate should not be a reason for their rejection in academia.
David Hilbert's quote emphasizes the importance of equality in academic opportunities, specifically addressing the unfairness of gender discrimination in faculty admissions. He argues that qualifications and capabilities should take precedence over personal attributes like sex, thereby advocating for an inclusive and merit-based educational environment.
Themes
Sex DiscriminationEqualityEducationAcademic FreedomWomen In Academia
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech addressing gender equality in science, this quote can be used to highlight the importance of considering candidates based on qualifications rather than gender.
More from David Hilbert
All quotes →The art of doing mathematics consists in finding that special case which contains all the germs of generality.
David HilbertRead
The further a mathematical theory is developed, the more harmoniously and uniformly does its construction proceed, and unsuspected relations are disclosed between hitherto separated branches of the science.
David HilbertRead
Wir mussen wissen. Wir werden wissen. We must know. We will know. Inscribed on his tomb in Gilttingen.
David HilbertRead
Mathematics is a game played according to certain simple rules with meaningless marks on paper.
David HilbertRead
No one shall expel us from the paradise that Cantor has created for us.
David HilbertRead
Similar quotes
Books! I dunno if I ever told you this, but books are the greatest gift one person can give another.
BonoRead
The unfinished character of human beings and the transformational character of reality necessitate that education be an ongoing activity.
Paulo FreireRead
Whatever came to mind, whatever came to hand, I would read.
Stephen KingRead
Besides language and music, it [mathematics] is one of the primary manifestations of the free creative power of the human mind, and it is the universal organ for world understanding through theoretical construction. Mathematics must therefore remain an essential element of the knowledge and abilities which we have to teach, of the culture we have to transmit, to the next generation.
Hermann WeylRead
It is the duty of the State to educate, and the right of the people to demand education.
Edmund BartonRead
I write books for teenagers because I vividly remember what it felt like to be a teen facing everyday and epic dangers. I don't write to protect them. It's far too late for that. I write to give them weapons-in the form of words and ideas-that will help them fight their monsters. I write in blood because I remember what it felt like to bleed.
Sherman AlexieRead