Elena

“It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth, unless the truth is a hypothesis it didn’t occur to you to consider.”
― Jordan Ellenberg, How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking

“Genius is a thing that happens, not a kind of person.”
― Jordan Ellenberg, How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking

“One of the most painful parts of teaching mathematics is seeing students damaged by the cult of the genius. The genius cult tells students it’s not worth doing mathematics unless you’re the best at mathematics, because those special few are the only ones whose contributions matter. We don’t treat any other subject that way! I’ve never heard a student say, “I like Hamlet, but I don’t really belong in AP English—that kid who sits in the front row knows all the plays, and he started reading Shakespeare when he was nine!” Athletes don’t quit their sport just because one of their teammates outshines them. And yet I see promising young mathematicians quit every year, even though they love mathematics, because someone in their range of vision was “ahead” of them.”
― Jordan Ellenberg, How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking

“Safety warning: never divide by zero unless a licensed mathematician is present.”
― Jordan Ellenberg, How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking