Plague Music (p. 294)
Short fiction, Belladonna Nights and Other Stories (2021)
“Wit can be beautiful, because it expresses and distils an idea.”
Stephen Fry (1957) English comedian, actor, writer, presenter, and activist
On the subject of criteria he used to judge in The Most Beautiful Tweet contest, Hay Festival 2010[citation needed]
2010s
“The purest way to communicate the human condition is through the beauty of music.”
Edward W. Hardy (1992) American composer, musician and producer
From an interview in “My Favorite Song: Edward W. Hardy of 'The Woodsman'” https://12e3365e-df7a-3f83-6964-dce78c2d6819.filesusr.com/ugd/118bef_84bd82e1c6e1489da21ac1822508662c.pdf NewYork.com (2016 May 13), “‘Why we joined the union’ - Edward W. Hardy” https://www.local802afm.org/allegro/articles/new-members-feb-2020-4/ Allegro Magazine - Local 802 AFM (2020 Feb 4)
Kim Stanley Robinson (1952) American science fiction writer
they weren’t always
Source: Blue Mars (1996), Chapter 13, “Experimental Procedures” (p. 657)
Jean Genet (1910–1986) French novelist, playwright, poet and political activist
Source: Miracle of the Rose
Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity
Letter to Queen Mother Elizabeth of Belgium (20 March, likely 1936), written to her when she was depressed over the recent death of her husband and daughter-in-law, p. 51
Attributed in posthumous publications, Albert Einstein: The Human Side (1979)
Benoît Mandelbrot (1924–2010) Polish-born, French and American mathematician
A Theory of Roughness (2004)
Context: For many years I had been hearing the comment that fractals make beautiful pictures, but are pretty useless. I was irritated because important applications always take some time to be revealed. For fractals, it turned out that we didn't have to wait very long. In pure science, fads come and go. To influence basic big-budget industry takes longer, but hopefully also lasts longer.
Tom Stoppard (1937) British playwright
Misattributed
Source: Hermann Weyl as quoted by Freeman Dyson: "Characteristic of Weyl was an aesthetic sense which dominated his thinking on all subjects. He once said to me, half-joking, 'My work always tried to unite the true with the beautiful; but when I had to choose one or the other, I usually chose the beautiful.'" - Freeman Dyson, "Obituary of Hermann Weyl," Nature (1956-03-10), pp. 457-458.
