Theory is needed to tell you where to look.

Mathematics has beauty and romance. It's not a boring place to be, the mathematical world. It's an extraordinary place; it's worth spending time there.

Primes are the atoms of the arithmetic - the hydrogen and oxygen of the world of numbers

You know, I'm not terribly fast at my times tables, because that's not what I think mathematics is about.

Its my belief that you can take everyone down a logical path if you take them slowly enough, and the trouble is that mathematical brains can get scrambled a little bit on the way. You get a bad teacher, it messes you up for the rest of the journey.

When people ask me what my religion is, I say it's the Arsenal.

I think science is a foreign land for many people, so I think of my role as an ambassador's job.