時枝正 · Vinony

時枝正 · Vinony

Quotes

“You can Google my name, and ... There are lots of videos that they put out online... and you can watch these. However, even that is only a substitute. There's nothing that replaces your own touch. Trying things yourself, and indeed noticing curiosities in nature itself.”
“Watching videos is much better than a stupid person like me telling you about this, so that's really the worst possible way to proceed, but even watching videos is no good. You should really try those things yourself and... discover things yourself. There's so much, so much out there.”
“So I'm not such a great believer in talent. Maybe I'd rather use the word ... because... I find that the people talk too much about the genius, and... correspondingly to the... in music and... mathematics... That's a dangerous word, and I'm not sure that it's socially beneficial to talk about... whether it exists or not. ...Maybe scientifically you can talk about the concept of genius, but it... does more damage sociologically, than it does good.”
“I'm fortunate enough to be friends and personally acquainted with some of the leading mathematicians of our age, but... I have never met a genius. They are all understandable. They are wonderful, wonderful people, and they really love what they are doing, and their creations... open up a whole world for you... but I don't think... I ever met a genius. ...In practical terms, it's much more useful to ...focus on other things. So that's why I'm skirting around your question on innate ability.”
“[I]t's just that mathematics is an unforgiving subject where any misunderstanding, any lack of understanding shows immediately, whereas in the rest of human endeavors you can keep going by faking for quite a long time. So in that way, yes, the language frames how you understand mathematics, but in that very very practical way. ...[T]he best way to improve your chance of future advance in mathematics is to practice, and improve your native language.”
“[T]he question I wanted to be asked and which I have never been asked is, "What is the question you have been wanting to be asked, but you have not been asked?"”

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