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If we have no idea why a statement is true, we can still prove it by induction.
Gian-Carlo Rota
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Gian-Carlo Rota
Age: 66 †
Born: 1932
Born: April 27
Died: 1999
Died: April 18
Mathematician
Philosopher
University Teacher
Stills
Still
Induction
Ideas
Statement
Statements
Mathematics
Prove
Idea
True
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The lack of real contact between mathematics and biology is either a tragedy, a scandal or a challenge, it is hard to decide which.
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There is something in statistics that makes it very similar to astrology.
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A mathematician's work is mostly a tangle of guesswork, analogy, wishful thinking and frustration, and proof, far from being the core of discovery, is more often than not a way of making sure that our minds are not playing tricks.
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Mathematicians also make terrible salesmen. Physicists can discover the same thing as a mathematician and say 'We've discovered a great new law of nature. Give us a billion dollars.' And if it doesn't change the world, then they say, 'There's an even deeper thing. Give us another billion dollars.'
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