Allen Paulos Quotes & Sayings

The once-surprising existence of non-Euclidean models of Euclid's first four axioms can be seen as a sort of mathematical joke. — John Allen Paulos

I've been in several car accidents, but I can say that they did nothing for my libido. — J.G. Ballard

Once the violence has ceased, the US should immediately call on the World Bank and other international institutions to convene a donors conference to rebuild Lebanon's shattered infrastructure. — John Conyers

For example, knowing that it takes only about eleven and a half days for a million seconds to tick away, whereas almost thirty-two years are required for a billion seconds to pass, gives one a better grasp of the relative magnitudes of these two common numbers. — John Allen Paulos

There is something inhuman and vaguely pornographic about statistics ... Pornography, on the other hand, with its loosely bound sequences of storyless sexual couplings often has the feel of a statistical survey. — John Allen Paulos

I sometimes think it would be beneficial if people thought of each other as "historical factorials." Thus, (Myrtle!) would be understood not just as present-day Myrtle but as the product of all her past experiences. — John Allen Paulos

Innumeracy and pseudoscience are often associated, in part because of the ease with which mathematical certainty can be invoked, to bludgeon the innumerate into a dumb acquiescence. — John Allen Paulos

The simple equations that generate the convoluted Mandelbrot fractal have been called the wittiest remarks ever made. — John Allen Paulos

The nuclear weapons on board just one of our Trident submarines contain eight times the firepower expended in all of World War II. — John Allen Paulos

I used to be surprised and even depressed when I met someone I had admired and discovered him or her to be a jerk or, perhaps worse, rather common. Now I half expect this reaction and even find it a little reassuring, maybe even uplifting. Isn't it amazing that somebody like that could produce such and such. — John Allen Paulos

So many see themselves as aggrieved; so few see themselves as aggrievers. — John Allen Paulos

In listening to stories we tend to suspend disbelief in order to be entertained, whereas in evaluating statistics we generally have an opposite inclination to suspend belief in order not to be beguiled. — John Allen Paulos

Hospitality knows no gender or race. — Danny Meyer

A term meant to convey a person's inability to make sense of the numbers that run their lives. — Douglas R. Hofstadter

The taste for resin can be aquired, but there is no need to aquire it — Raymond Postgate

Uncertainty would be the only certainty there's, and realizing how to stay with insecurity could be the only protection — John Allen Paulos

The "new evangelical" wears skinny jeans and earrings made from recycled beer caps. After all, she is acquiring a taste for Blue Moon and Chardonnay. She lives in a loft in the city and grows organic vegetables on her balcony because the earth belongs to God, and she wants to take care of it...She tries to keep things clean, language-wise, but she knows that sometimes the right word is f***. — Addie Zierman

The fashion pages have always baffled me. In my opinion, the articles appear to be full of gobbledygook as to make the astrology column seem factual by comparison. — John Allen Paulos

We ourselves are co-called non-linear dynamical systems ... I don't feel quite so pathetic when I interrupt a project to check on some obscure web site or newsgroup or derive an iota of cheer by getting rid of pocketful of change. — John Allen Paulos

Music is either sacred or secular. The sacred agrees with its dignity, and here has its greatest effect on life, an effect that remains the same through all ages and epochs. Secular music should be cheerful throughout. — Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

The star of Bethlehem was a star of hope that led the wise men to the fulfillment of their expectations, the success of their expedition. Nothing in this world is more fundamental for success in life than hope, and this star pointed to our only source for true hope: Jesus Christ. — D. James Kennedy

As for another profession ... I suppose I'd manage a global-macro hedge fund. I love that kind of stuff. Weird, I know, but I find it fascinating. — Nicholas Sparks

Spirituality is the intersection of three paths: letting go of ego, an unconditional yes to the conditions of human existence, and an immeasurable compassion. — David Richo

One must give up the fantasy of a perspicacious gunslinger/investor
outwitting the market. — John Allen Paulos

Nobody could ascend before transfigured. — Toba Beta

Fear is a pair of handcuffs on your soul. — Faye Dunaway

Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security. — John Allen Paulos

It's so easy to be selfish in your 20s and not want to sacrifice. — Freddie Prinze Jr.

Data, data everywhere, but not a thought to think. — John Allen Paulos

When asked why he doesn't believe in astrology, the logician Raymond Smullyan responds that he's a Gemini and Geminis never believe in astrology. — John Allen Paulos

The Internet is the world's largest library. It's just that all the books are on the floor. — John Allen Paulos

How many pizzas are consumed each year in the United States? How many words have you spoken in your life? How many different peoples names appear in the New York Times each year? How many watermelons would fit inside the U.S. Capital building? What is the volume of all the human blood in the world? — John Allen Paulos

In the stock market ... You can be right for the wrong reasons or wrong for the right reasons. — John Allen Paulos

Mathematics is no more computation than typing is literature. — John Allen Paulos

The only bit of logic-based public bathroom humor I know is: the difference between men and women is that between the statement [P and not Q] and the statement [Q and not P]. — John Allen Paulos

The Greeks had considered hope the final evil in Pandora's box. They also gave us an image of perfect nobility: a human being lovingly doing her duty to another human being despite all threats, and going to her death with pride and courage, not deterred by any hope - Antigone. — Walter Kaufmann

Mathematicians are a bit like the laconic Vermonter who, when asked if he's lived in the state his whole life, replies, "Not yet." — John Allen Paulos

Certainty a strange Ferris wheel of a statement! — John Allen Paulos

I'm trying to remember how you tell the time by looking at the sun." -"I should leave it for a while, it's too bright to see the numbers at the moment. — Terry Pratchett

A German merchant of the fifteenth century asked an eminent professor where he should send his son for a good business education. The professor responded that German universities would be sufficient to teach the boy addition and subtraction but he would have to go to Italy to learn multiplication and division. Before you smile indulgently, try multiplying or even just adding the Roman numerals CCLXIV, MDCCCIX, DCL, and MLXXXI without first translating them. — John Allen Paulos