Quote of the Day
The mathematician’s patterns, like the painter’s or the poet’s, must be beautiful; the ideas, like the colors or the words, must fit together in a harmonious way. Beauty is the first test: there is no permanent place in the world for ugly mathematics.
Alec Nevala-Lee 
Reblogged this on Overlapping Sundials.
thomasjclarkdesignlab
November 15, 2013 at 10:03 am
One wonders what he would think of things like the proof of the four colour theorem, where the final step was proof by computer.
I suppose mathematics is a great example of needing a trained eye before you can see the beauty.
I can see that I tend to give mathematicians and scientists that extra latitude, but not so much artists. I might be prepared to ‘work’ at reading a novel, but I don’t expect to have to study up first, yet I would not dive into the great mathematical works and expect instant comprehension…
Darren
November 17, 2013 at 5:30 am
I know a few mathematicians, and I have a feeling that they’re happy if a dozen people in the world can appreciate the beauty of what they’ve done.
nevalalee
November 18, 2013 at 9:27 am