When I was in Cambridge reading mathematics, I went to Amsterdam for the International Mathematics Congress. There I saw M.C. Escher's fascinating work. That inspired me to try my hand at drawing such impossibilities.
Roger PenroseRead
My own way of thinking is to ponder long and I hope deeply on problems and for a long time which I keep away for years and years and I never really let them go.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the value of deep, sustained contemplation on difficult problems.
Roger Penrose highlights the importance of pondering deeply and thoughtfully over problems rather than rushing to conclusions. This approach fosters a more profound understanding and often leads to insightful solutions that may take years to emerge, suggesting that patience and persistence can be more valuable than immediate responses.
Themes
ThinkingProblemsContemplationPatienceInsight
In practice
Example use cases
In a seminar about problem-solving techniques, this quote can be used to illustrate the importance of deep thinking.
More from Roger Penrose
All quotes →Some people take the view that the universe is simply there, and it runs along - it's a bit as though it just sort of computes, and we happen by accident to find ourselves in this thing. I don't think that's a very fruitful or helpful way of looking at the universe.
Roger PenroseRead
Consciousness ... is the phenomenon whereby the universe's very existence is made known.
Roger PenroseRead
Some years ago, I wrote a book called the Emperor’s New Mind and that book was describing a point of view I had about consciousness and why it was not something that comes about from complicated calculations.
Roger PenroseRead
I believe there is something going on in a conscious being, which includes many animals, as well as ourselves, that is not a computational activity. And to be conscious at all is not a quality that a computer as such will ever possess - no matter how complicated, no matter how well it plays chess or any of these things.
Roger PenroseRead
Some people take the view that we happen by accident. I think that there is something much deeper, of which we have very little inkling at the moment.
Roger PenroseRead
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