“Whatever is worth saying, can be stated in fifty words or less.”

as quoted by Gian-Carlo Rota in Words spoken at the memorial service for S. M. Ulam (The Lodge, Los Alamos, New Mexico, May 17, 1984), published in The Mathematical Intelligencer, Volume 6, Number 4 / December, 1984

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Whatever is worth saying, can be stated in fifty words or less." by Stanislaw Ulam?
Stanislaw Ulam photo
Stanislaw Ulam 33
Polish-American mathematician 1909–1984

Related quotes

Tracy Chevalier photo
José Saramago photo

“Life is like that, full of words that are not worth saying or that were worth saying once but not any more, each word that we utter will take up the space of another more deserving word not deserving in its own right, but because of the possible consequences of saying it.”

A vida é assim, está cheia de palavras que não valem a pena, ou que valeram e já não valem, cada uma que ainda formos dizendo tirará o lugar a outra mais merecedora, que o seria não tanto por si mesma, mas pelas consequências de tê-la dito.
Source: The Cave (2000), p. 28 (Vintage 2003)

Lewis Carroll photo

“Better say nothing at all. Language is worth a thousand pounds a word!”

Source: Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield photo

“Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well.”

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield (1694–1773) British statesman and man of letters

The French attribute this to the painter Nicolas Poussin (born 15 June 1594) "Ce qui vaut la peine d'être fait vaut la peine d'être bien fait"
Disputed

Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux photo

“Whatever is well conceived is clearly said,
And the words to say it flow with ease.”

Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux (1636–1711) French poet and critic

Ce que l'on conçoit bien s'énonce clairement,
Et les mots pour le dire arrivent aisément.
Canto I, l. 153
The Art of Poetry (1674)

Shaun Chamberlin photo

“Failure to live up to a truth doesn’t make it any less true, less worth striving for, or less worth defending.”

"Confessions of a Hypocrite: Utopia in the Age of Ecocide" Kosmos (2016) https://www.kosmosjournal.org/article/confessions-of-a-hypocrite-utopia-in-the-age-of-ecocide/

Joyce Meyer photo
Garrison Keillor photo
Françoise Sagan photo

“Love is worth whatever it costs.”

Bonjour Tristesse (Published in 1954)

Pythagoras photo

“Let no one persuade you by word or deed to do or say whatever is not best for you.”

Pythagoras (-585–-495 BC) ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher

As quoted in Divine Harmony: The Life and Teachings of Pythagoras by John Strohmeier and Peter Westbrook. (1999)
The Golden Verses
Context: Many words befall men, mean and noble alike; do not be astonished by them, nor allow yourself to be constrained.
If a lie is told, bear with it gently.
But whatever I tell you, let it be done completely.
Let no one persuade you by word or deed to do or say whatever is not best for you.

Related topics