If the riches of the Indies, or the crowns of all the kingdom of Europe, were laid at my feet in exchange for my love of reading, I would spurn them all.
Francois Fenelon
Yeah, that's me.
Beauty is the first test; there is no permanent place in the world for ugly mathematics.
G.H. Hardy, in A Mathematician's Apology
This is one that probably doesn't make sense to some of my readers. Frankly, many of my students would protest that all mathematics is ugly.
It is a mistake to suppose that men succeed through success; they much oftener succeed through failures. Precept, study, advice, and example could never have taught them so well as failure has done.
Samuel Smiles
This is a variation on a familiar theme, but one that I really think is true.
You tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try.
Matt Groening (1954 - ), The Simpsons
I do not agree with this one, but I couldn't help juxtaposing it with the previous one.
Education would be so much more effective if its purpose were to ensure that by the time they leave school every boy and girl should know how much they don't know, and be imbued with a lifelong desire to know it.
Sir William Haley
'Nuf said.
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