“The surprising thing about this paper is that a man who could write it--would.”

Note quotation marks: Littlewood is repeating a joke without attribution. "Cross-purposes, Unconscious Assumptions, Howlers, Misprints, etc.", p. 59.
Littlewood's Miscellany (1986)

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John Edensor Littlewood 6
English Mathematician 1885–1977

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