Henri Poincare Quotes
A scientist worthy of his name, about all a mathematician, experiences in his work the same impression as an artist; his pleasure is as great and of the same nature.
It may happen that small differences in the initial conditions produce very great ones in the final phenomena.
Science is built up with facts, as a house is with stones. But a collection of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house.
If we knew exactly the laws of nature and the situation of the universe at the initial moment, we could predict exactly the situation of the same universe at a succeeding moment.
But all of my efforts served only to make me better acquainted with the difficulty, which in itself was something.
Talk with M. Hermite. He never evokes a concrete image, yet you soon perceive that the more abstract entities are to him like living creatures.
A very small cause, which escapes us, determines a considerable effect which we cannot ignore, and we say that this effect is due to chance.
We also know how cruel the truth often is, and we wonder whether delusion is not more consoling.
Zero is the number of objects that satisfy a condition that is never satisfied. But as never means "in no case", I do not see that any progress has been made.
Deviner avant de démontrer! Ai-je besoin de rappeler que c'est ainsi que se sont faites toutes les découvertes importantes.
Thus, be it understood, to demonstrate a theorem, it is neither necessary nor even advantageous to know what it means.
Doubting everything and believing everything are two equally convenient solutions that guard us from having to think
Logic sometimes makes monsters. For half a century we have seen a mass of bizarre functions which appear to be forced to resemble as little as possible honest functions which serve some purpose.
If nature were not beautiful, it would not be worth knowing, and if nature were not worth knowing, life would not be worth living.
Absolute space, that is to say, the mark to which it would be necessary to refer the earth to know whether it really moves, has no objective existence.
Science is built up of facts, as a house is with stones. But a collection of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house.
A very small cause which escapes our notice determines a considerable effect that we cannot fail to see, and then we say that the effect is due to chance.
Science is built of facts the way a house is built of bricks but an accumulation of facts is no more science than a pile of bricks is a house.