Change is most sluggish at the extremes precisely because the derivative is zero there.

I loved this smart, funny, big-hearted novel. As hilarious and wise as early Philip Roth, The Mathematician's Shiva will delight and move you.

The frequencies of the notes in a scale—do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do—sound to us like they’re rising in equal steps. But objectively their vibrational frequencies are rising by equal multiples. We perceive pitch logarithmically.

In mathematics, our freedom lies in the questions we ask — and in how we pursue them — but not in the answers awaiting us.

When you love a problem, its contours, obstacles and resistances are all just part of its character.

Logic leaves us no choice. In that sense, math always involves both invention and discovery: we invent the concepts but discover their consequences. … in mathematics our freedom lies in the questions we ask – and in how we pursue them – but not in the answers awaiting us.

When you create something new, you're breaking tradition - which is an act of defiance.

One of the pleasures of looking at the world through mathematical eyes is that you can see certain patterns that would otherwise be hidden.