Howard W. Eves Quotes on Mathematics (2 Quotes)

Mathematics may be likened to a large rock whose interior composition we wish to examine. The older mathematicians appear as persevering stone cutters slowly attempting to demolish the rock from the outside with hammer and chisel. The later mathematicians resemble expert miners who seek vulnerable veins, drill into these strategic places, and then blast the rock apart with well placed internal charges.

A formal manipulator in mathematics often experiences the discomforting feeling that his pencil surpasses him in intelligence.