Computers Are Like Humans - They Do

Neumann, To A Physicist Seeking Help With A Difficult Problem: Simple. This Can Be Solved By Using The Method Of Characteristics. Physicist: I'm Afraid I Don't Understand The Method Of Characteristics. Neumann: In Mathematics You Don't Understand Things. You Just Get Used To Them.

The Total Subject Of Mathematics Is Clearly Too Broad For Any Of Us. I Do Not Think That Any Mathematician Since Gauss Has Covered It Uniformly And Fully; Even Hilbert Did Not And All Of Us Are Of Considerably Lesser Width Quite Apart From The Question Of Depth Than Hilbert.

Life Is A Process Which May Be Abstracted From Other Media.

The Sciences Do Not Try To Explain, They Hardly Even Try To Interpret, They Mainly Make Models. By A Model Is Meant A Mathematical Construct Which, With The Addition Of Certain Verbal Interpretations, Describes Observed Phenomena. The Justification Of Such A Mathematical Construct Is Solely And Precisely That It Is Expected To Work-that Is, Correctly To Describe Phenomena From A Reasonably Wide Area.

Young Man, In Mathematics You Don't Understand Things. You Just Get Used To Them.