Edsger W. Dijkstra (1930–2002) Dutch computer scientist
1970s, How do we tell truths that might hurt? (1975)
p. 11 of "Comments on the foundations of set theory." https://books.google.com/books?id=TVi2AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 In Axiomatic set theory, pp. 9-15. Providence (RI). American Mathematical Society, 1971.
Edsger W. Dijkstra (1930–2002) Dutch computer scientist
1970s, How do we tell truths that might hurt? (1975)
C. West Churchman (1913–2004) American philosopher and systems scientist
Mathematics is a way of preparing for decisions through thinking. Sets and classes provide one way to subdivide a problem for decision preparation; a set derives its meaning from decision making, and not vice versa.
C. West Churchman, Leonard Auerbach, Simcha Sadan, Thinking for Decisions: Deductive Quantitative Methods (1975) Preface.
1960s - 1970s
Seymour Papert book Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas
Source: Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas (1980), Chapter 1, Computers and Computer Cultures
Marcus du Sautoy (1965) British professor of mathematics
Conclusion in BBC's The Story of Maths, episode 4
Vladimir I. Arnold (1937–2010) Russian mathematician
Interview translated from the Russian into English and republished in the book Boris A. Khesin; Serge L. Tabachnikov (editors), Arnold: Swimming Against the Tide (2014) Google Books preview http://books.google.com/books?id=aBWHBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA4 pages 4–5.
Gregory Chaitin (1947) Argentinian mathematician and computer scientist
1999 Lecture—"A Century of Controversy over the Foundations of Mathematics" at U. Massachusetts at Lowell, quoted in [2012, Conversations with a Mathematician: Math, Art, Science and the Limits of Reason, Springer, https://books.google.com/books?id=DczTBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA15] p. 15
“Ninety percent of most magic merely consists of knowing one extra fact.”
Terry Pratchett book Night Watch
Source: Night Watch
Harold Rosenberg (1906–1978) American writer and art critic
Source: Art on the Edge, (1975), p. 71, "Lester Johnson's Abstract Men"
Anatole France book The Revolt of the Angels
Variant: For the majority of people, though they do not know what to do with this life, long for another that shall have no end.
Source: The Revolt of the Angels (1914), Ch. XXI
James Whitbread Lee Glaisher (1848–1928) English mathematician and astronomer
Source: "Presidential Address British Association for the Advancement of Science," 1890, p. 466 : On the expansion of the field of mathematics, and on the importance of a well-chosen notation