A smooth lecture... may be pleasant; a good teacher challenges, asks, irritates and maintains high standards - all that is generally not pleasant.

The heart of mathematics is its problems.

The heart of mathematics consists of concrete examples and concrete problems. Big general theories are usually afterthoughts based on small but profound insights; the insights themselves come from concrete special cases.

I read once that the true mark of a pro - at anything - is that he understands, loves, and is good at even the drudgery of his profession.

Mathematics is not a deductive science - that's a cliché... What you do is trial and error, experimentation, guesswork.

What's the best part of being a mathematician? I'm not a religious man, but it's almost like being in touch with God when you're thinking about mathematics. God is keeping secrets from us, and it's fun to try to learn some of the secrets.

It saddens me that educated people don't even know that my subject exists.