Henri Poincare
Henri Poincare
Jules Henri Poincaréwas a French mathematician, theoretical physicist, engineer, and a philosopher of science. He is often described as a polymath, and in mathematics as The Last Universalist by Eric Temple Bell, since he excelled in all fields of the discipline as it existed during his lifetime...
NationalityFrench
ProfessionMathematician
Date of Birth29 April 1854
CountryFrance
mathematics geometry theorems
One geometry cannot be more true than another; it can only be more convenient.
discovery generations spontaneity
Mathematical discoveries, small or great are never born of spontaneous generation.
errors mathematics mathematical
How is error possible in mathematics?
study relation mathematician
Mathematicians do not study objects, but relations between objects.
groups mathematics tales
All of mathematics is a tale about groups.
disease generations mathematics
Later generations will regard Mengenlehre (set theory) as a disease from which one has recovered.
definitions philosopher logic
What is a good definition? For the philosopher or the scientist, it is a definition which applies to all the objects to be defined, and applies only to them; it is that which satisfies the rules of logic. But in education it is not that; it is one that can be understood by the pupils.
illumination long firsts
Most striking at first is the appearance of sudden illumination, a manifest sign of long unconscious prior work.
errors produce latter
A small error in the former will produce an enormous error in the latter.
skeletons understanding mind
How is it that there are so many minds that are incapable of understanding mathematics? ... the skeleton of our understanding, ... and actually they are the majority. ... We have here a problem that is not easy of solution, but yet must engage the attention of all who wish to devote themselves to education.
discovery intuition important
Intuition is more important to discovery than logic.
discovery important guessing
Guessing before proving! Need I remind you that it is so that all important discoveries have been made?
sole source experiments
Experiment is the sole source of truth.
doe theory asks
One does not ask whether a scientific theory is true, but only whether it is convenient.