Most of what I do does not save lives. Terence Tao More Quotes by Terence Tao More Quotes From Terence Tao Education is a complex, multifaceted, and painstaking process, and being gifted does not make this less so. Terence Tao giftedprocessdoe Ultimately you should follow advice not because someone tells you to, but because it was something that you already knew you should be doing. Terence Tao shouldadvice Pointing out that countless great mathematicians had tried to solve the problem and failed before you came along is in particularly bad taste and should be avoided completely. Terence Tao problemtasteshould ... it can often be profitable to try a technique on a problem even if you know in advance that it cannot possibly solve the problem completely. Terence Tao often-ismathtrying At a purely formal level, one could call probability theory the study of measure spaces with total measure one, but that would be like calling number theory the study of strings of digits which terminate. Terence Tao probability-theoryspacenumbers Unsolicited surprise requests from strangers are essentially guaranteed to be met with a negative response. Terence Tao surprisestrangernegative Volume grows spatially slower than scaling. Terence Tao growsvolume I enjoy a good meal, a good vacation, or a good movie, much as anyone else would. Terence Tao goodvacationgood-movieenjoy One can think of any given axiom system as being like a computer with a certain limited amount of memory or processing power. One could switch to a computer with even more storage, but no matter how large an amount of storage space the computer has, there will still exist some tasks that are beyond its ability. Terence Tao memorythinkspacepower Math education has changed over the years. In the 19th century, they taught spherical trigonometry because one of the biggest applications of mathematics was navigating the ocean. This is no longer so relevant. Terence Tao mathematicsoceaneducationyears I have been lucky to find very good collaborators who have taught me a lot, have introduced me to several new fields of mathematics, or have shown me new insights. Terence Tao newgoodmemathematics The standard high school curriculum traditionally has been focused towards physics and engineering. So calculus, differential equations, and linear algebra have always been the most emphasized, and for good reason - these are very important. Terence Tao goodhigh-schoolimportantschool Can you make fancy patterns of water that actually have some computation power? I'm betting that fluids are complex enough to do this. Terence Tao youpowerenoughwater Math research is more like a marathon. Terence Tao morelikemarathonresearch Talent is important, but how one develops and nurtures it is even more so. Terence Tao morehowtalentimportant Mathematicians are fairly cheap. Terence Tao mathematiciansfairlycheap What interests me is the connection between maths and the real world. Terence Tao connectionmerealworld It is very humbling to receive the Fields Medal. The words of a Fields Medallist carry a lot of weight within mathematics - for instance, in framing future directions of research - which means that I have to watch what I say more carefully now! Terence Tao wordsfuturemathematicsresearch When I was growing up, I knew I wanted to be a mathematician, but I had no idea what that entailed. Terence Tao upno-ideagrowinggrowing-up When you're concentrating hard, hours can fly by, and it's just you and a math problem. Terence Tao flyyouhardproblem
