Ian Stewart Quotes

36 Sourced Quotes

Don't judge geometries by first appearances.

Ian Stewart
"So what does the Mandelblot tell us, then?" "That a very simple mathematical rule can lead to incredibly complicated behaviour," replied the Space Hopper. "Isn't that amazing?" "I guess... But doesn't that mean that trying to understand dynamics in terms of rules is a waste of time?"

Ian Stewart
There are 10 kinds of people in the world: those who understand binary numerals, and those who don't.

Ian Stewart
Mathematicians are beginning to view order and chaos as two distinct manifestations of an underlying determinism. And neither state exists in isolation. The typical system can exist in a variety of states, some ordered, some chaotic. Instead of two opposed polarities, there is a continuous spectrum. As harmony and discord combine in musical beauty, so order and chaos combine in mathematical [and physical] beauty.

Ian Stewart
The flapping of a single butterfly's wing today produces a tiny change in the state of the atmosphere. Over a period of time, what the atmosphere actually does diverges from what it would have done. So, in a month's time, a tornado that would have devastated the Indonesian coast doesn't happen. Or maybe one that wasn't going to happen, does.

Ian Stewart
Construction of models, I said, was an art. On this occasion the art is conjuring: I can do no better than wave the magic wand and extract the rabbit from the hat.

Ian Stewart