Alec Nevala-Lee

Thoughts on art, creativity, and the writing life.

Alan Turing on intuition and ingenuity

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Alan Turing

Mathematical reasoning may be regarded rather schematically as the exercise of a combination of two facilities, which we may call intuition and ingenuity. The activity of the intuition consists in making spontaneous judgements which are not the result of conscious trains of reasoning. These judgments are often but by no means invariably correct…

The exercise of ingenuity in mathematics consists in aiding the intuition through suitable arrangements of propositions, and perhaps geometrical figures or drawings. It is intended that when these are really well arranged the validity of the intuitive steps which are required cannot seriously be doubted.

Alan Turing

Written by nevalalee

July 13, 2013 at 9:50 am

Posted in Quote of the Day

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