Timothy Gowers Quotes

3 Sourced Quotes

What a mathematical proof actually does is show that certain conclusions, such as the irrationality of, follow from certain premises, such as the principle of mathematical induction. The validity of these premises is an entirely independent matter which can safely be left to philosophers.

Timothy Gowers

A mathematician is more anonymous than an artist. While we may greatly admire a mathematician who discovers a beautiful proof, the human story behind the discovery eventually fades away and it is, in the end, the mathematics itself that delights us.

Timothy Gowers

Although the prime numbers are rigidly determined, they somehow feel like experimental data.

Timothy Gowers