“Either mathematics is too big for the human mind, or the human mind is more than a machine.”

—  Kurt Gödel

As quoted in Topoi : The Categorial Analysis of Logic (1979) by Robert Goldblatt, p. 13

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 "Either mathematics is too big for the human mind, or the human mind is more than a machine." by Kurt Gödel?
Kurt Gödel photo
Kurt Gödel 12
logician, mathematician, and philosopher of mathematics 1906–1978

Related quotes

Michael Dell photo

“I love this idea of human-machine partnerships because in my mind it’s always been very clear. It’s not about humans or machines, it’s about humans and machines.”

Michael Dell (1965) Businessman, CEO

SDxCentral: "Michael Dell Says Robopocalypse Is Fake News, Future Is Software Defined" https://www.sdxcentral.com/articles/news/michael-dell-says-robopocalypse-is-fake-news-future-is-software-defined/2018/04/ (30 April 2018)

Frank Herbert photo
Blaise Pascal photo

“More comprehensive process than those of the conscious mind control human destiny.”

Lancelot Law Whyte (1896–1972) Scottish industrial engineer

Source: The Next Development in Man (1948), p. 151

Konrad Lorenz photo

“The human soul is very much older than the human mind.”

Konrad Lorenz (1903–1989) Austrian zoologist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1973.
Nick Herbert photo
Louisa May Alcott photo

“Human minds are more full of mysteries than any written book and more changeable than the cloud shapes in the air.”

Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888) American novelist

Source: The Abbot's Ghost: A Christmas Story

Martin Gardner photo

“I can say this. I believe that the human mind, or even the mind of a cat, is more interesting in its complexity than an entire galaxy if it is devoid of life.”

Martin Gardner (1914–2010) recreational mathematician and philosopher

Martin Gardner, puzzle master extraordinaire http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29688355 obituary by Colm Mulcahy, BBC News Magazine, October 21, 2014

Pearl S.  Buck photo

“The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: a human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive.”

Pearl S. Buck (1892–1973) American writer

As quoted in The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters: Insiders Secrets from Hollywood's Top Writers (2001) by Karl Inglesias, p. 4. This has also appeared on the internet in several slightly paraphrased forms.
Context: The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: a human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To him, a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create — so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating.

Johannes Tauler photo

“The mystery of our union with God affected by the Eucharist, is a union more intimate than the human mind can conceive.”

Johannes Tauler (1300–1361) German theologian

Sermons, From Our Daily Bread

Related topics