"Mathematics is primarily a tool for human thought."

William Thurston Mathematics See all quotes by William Thurston →

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“People can be fooled into thinking of mathematics as logical, formal, symbolic reasoning. But this is far from reality...computers are far better at formal computation and formal reasoning, but humans are far better mathematicians.”

“The most important thing about mathematics is how it resides in the human brain.”

“When mathematics is explained, formalized and written down, there is a strong tendency to favor symbolic modes of thought at the expense of everything else, because symbols are easier to write and more standardized than other modes of reasoning. But when mathematics loses its connection to our minds, it dissolves into a haze.”

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