Henri Poincaré

If a phenomenon is too complicated to be studied in detail, we must be content with a general view.

Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is an absurd one.

The true method is to begin by doubting everything, and to end by believing only what is proved.

What we call objectivity is simply the result of a consensus.

The most fruitful discoveries are those which reveal to us the existence of a new world.

Mathematics is the language in which God has written the universe.

The scientist must organize; he constructs science with facts as he constructs a house with stones.

The geometer is not a man who draws figures, but a man who reasons about figures.

A scientific theory is a tool, not a creed.

There is no problem that cannot be solved by the human mind.

The value of science is not in its practical applications, but in its power to elevate the human spirit.

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.

Mathematics is the queen of the sciences and arithmetic the queen of mathematics.

The scientist must be free to follow his own path, even if it leads him away from the beaten track.

The future of mathematics is in the hands of those who are not afraid to break new ground.

The true scientist is not afraid to admit his ignorance.

The scientist must be a man of faith, for he must believe in the order of the universe.

The most important thing in science is not to discover new facts, but to discover new ways of thinking about them.

The human mind is not a passive recipient of knowledge, but an active constructor of reality.

Mathematics is the music of reason.