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Mathematicians on Creativity
215 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
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December 20, 2015
There is no royal road to mathematical success
The reflections on how these mathematicians view creativity will not surprise anyone that has worked on complex problems of any type. While Archimedes made the “eureka moment,” a fundamental element of the lore of problem solving, the sudden enlightenment with no preparation is a very rare phenomenon. Even with Archimedes, the solution appeared only after a sustained period of frustrating thought that seemed to be going nowhere.
Nearly all the quotes from mathematicians in this book reinforce this situation: their revelation appears after a period of thought, failure and then re-examination. One professor describes their strategy for seeking “eureka” moments as taking long showers, for that is one of the few moments in their day where their mind is free from the routine.
The quote that best describes the content of this book does not appear in it and was coined by inventor Thomas Edison. He said, “Success is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration.” In other words, the solving of problems is based on a great deal of thought and effort punctuated by occasional bits of insight that move the process along. We can learn a great deal from our predecessors, and in this case, the lesson is a common one that needs to be learned and re-learned: “There is no royal road to mathematical success.”
This book was made available for free for review purposes and this review also appears on Amazon
The reflections on how these mathematicians view creativity will not surprise anyone that has worked on complex problems of any type. While Archimedes made the “eureka moment,” a fundamental element of the lore of problem solving, the sudden enlightenment with no preparation is a very rare phenomenon. Even with Archimedes, the solution appeared only after a sustained period of frustrating thought that seemed to be going nowhere.
Nearly all the quotes from mathematicians in this book reinforce this situation: their revelation appears after a period of thought, failure and then re-examination. One professor describes their strategy for seeking “eureka” moments as taking long showers, for that is one of the few moments in their day where their mind is free from the routine.
The quote that best describes the content of this book does not appear in it and was coined by inventor Thomas Edison. He said, “Success is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration.” In other words, the solving of problems is based on a great deal of thought and effort punctuated by occasional bits of insight that move the process along. We can learn a great deal from our predecessors, and in this case, the lesson is a common one that needs to be learned and re-learned: “There is no royal road to mathematical success.”
This book was made available for free for review purposes and this review also appears on Amazon
Displaying 1 of 1 review