"Certainly one thing that I've learned is that it is important to pick a problem based on how much you care about it."

Andrew Wiles Mathematics See all quotes by Andrew Wiles →

React to this quote

More by Andrew Wiles

“But what has made this problem special for amateurs is that there's a tiny possibility that there does exist an elegant 17th-century proof.”

“But perhaps that's always the way with math problems, and we just have to find new ones to capture our attention.”

“Fermat couldn't possibly have had this proof.”

“I know it's a rare privilege, but if one can really tackle something in adult life that means that much to you, then it's more rewarding than anything I can imagine.”

“Always try the problem that matters most to you.”

“However impenetrable it seems, if you don't try it, then you can never do it.”

Resonant Thoughts

"I always believed that at some time fate would take from me the terrible effort and duty of educating myself. I believed that, when the time came, I would discover a philosopher to educate me, a true …"

— Friedrich Nietzsche

Philosophy1844–1900

#knowledge

"It's important to me that I don't get trapped in the whole teen scene because I feel that you can get lost in those kind of movies, and they aren't really about the actors; they're about the selling o…"

— Kirsten Dunst

Entertainment1982

#justice

"An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't. It's knowing where to go to find out …"

— William Feather

Business1889–1981

#knowledge

"It is my hope that all of you who walk down the street with an iPod plugged into your head are hit by a Seven Santini Brothers moving van. I look down on a lot of you … not because you’re not terrific…"

— Harlan Ellison

Literature1934–2018

#knowledge