"I have the result, but I do not yet know how to get it." - Gauss (1777-1855)

"In science, one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in poetry, it's the exact opposite." - attributed to Dirac (1902 - 1984)

"An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes, which can be made, in a very narrow field." - Bohr (1885 - 1962)

"The purpose of computing is insight, not numbers" (1961). "The purpose of computing numbers is not yet in sight" (1997). - Hamming (1915-1997)

"We often think that when we have completed our study on `one', we know all about `two', since `two is one and one'. We forget that we still have to make a study of `and'." - Eddington (1882-1944)

"Th'invention all admir'd, and each, how he to be th'inventor miss'd; so easy it seem'd, once found, which yet unfound most would have thought impossible." - Milton (1608-1674)

"My books are water; those of the great geniuses are wine -- everybody drinks water." - Twain (1835-1910)

"It is easier to write ten volumes on theoretical principles than to put one into practice." - Tolstoy (1828-1910)

"Moments of great discovery in science are more often accompanied by 'That's funny...' than by 'Eureka!'" - Asimov (1920-1992, paraphrase)

"I would rather have today's algorithms on yesterday's computers than vice versa." - Toint (contemporary)

"A couple of months in the laboratory can frequently save a couple of hours in the library." - Westheimer (contemporary)

"We are faced with insurmountable opportunity." - Pogo

"All models are wrong; some models are useful." George Box (contemporary)

"Think. Then discretize." - Rokhlin (contemporary)

Click here for more quotations (not all of them about the scientific endeavor)

Columbia address below becomes primary effective September 1, 2003.