“The moving power of mathematical invention is not reasoning, but imagination.”

Quoted in Robert Perceval Graves, The Life of Sir William Rowan Hamilton, Vol. 3 (1889), p. 219.

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 "The moving power of mathematical invention is not reasoning, but imagination." by Augustus De Morgan?
Augustus De Morgan photo
Augustus De Morgan 41
British mathematician, philosopher and university teacher (… 1806–1871

Related quotes

George Pólya photo

“The history of mathematics throws little light on the psychology of mathematical invention.”

George Frederick James Temple (1901–1992) British mathematician

100 Years of Mathematics: a Personal Viewpoint (1981)

Constantine P. Cavafy photo

“On hearing about powerful love, respond, be moved
like an aesthete.
On hearing about powerful love, respond, be moved
like an aesthete. Only, fortunate as you’ve been,
remember how much your imagination created for you.”

Constantine P. Cavafy (1863–1933) Greek poet

Source: http://www.cavafy.com/poems/content.asp?id=157&cat=4 On Hearing of Love
Collected Poems (1992)

Richard Feynman photo

“Mathematics is not just a language. Mathematics is a language plus reasoning.”

Source: The Character of Physical Law (1965), chapter 2, “The Relation of Mathematics to Physics”
Context: Mathematics is not just a language. Mathematics is a language plus reasoning. It's like a language plus logic. Mathematics is a tool for reasoning. It's, in fact, a big collection of the results of some person's careful thought and reasoning. By mathematics, it is possible to connect one statement to another.

David Hilbert photo
Frida Kahlo photo
Wallace Stevens photo
Letitia Elizabeth Landon photo

“Imagination's truth is from its power:
Man's genius can create when nature's felt;
He copies when he deems that he invents.”

Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802–1838) English poet and novelist

Translations, From the French

Samuel Taylor Coleridge photo
Thomas Edison photo

“To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.”

Thomas Edison (1847–1931) American inventor and businessman

As quoted in Behavior-Based Robotics (1998) by Ronald C. Arkin. p. 8.
Date unknown

Related topics