"If I were to awaken after having slept for a thousand years, my first question would be: Has the Riemann hypothesis been proven?"
- David Hilbert
About this Quote
In this quote, mathematician David Hilbert imagines a scenario where he gets up after having slept for a thousand years. In spite of the long period of rest, his first thought is not about the state of the world or his own wellness, but rather about the Riemann hypothesis. This hypothesis, proposed by mathematician Bernhard Riemann in the 19th century, is a well-known unsolved issue in mathematics that handles the circulation of prime numbers. Hilbert's statement highlights the sustaining fascination and significance of this problem in the mathematical neighborhood, even after centuries have actually passed. It also talks to the devotion and passion of mathematicians in their pursuit of understanding and solving complex issues.
"If the present Congress errs in too much talking, how can it be otherwise in a body to which the people send one hundred and fifty lawyers, whose trade it is to question everything, yield nothing, and talk by the hour?"
