Mathematicians Of The Day

9th June



On this day in 1905, Albert Einstein published his analysis of Planck's quantum theory and its application to light. It was for this work that Einstein was awarded the Nobel prize for physics in 1921.

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Quotation of the day

From J E Littlewood
In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary point and take details for granted: his successive mouthfuls should be such as can be swallowed at sight; in case of accidents, or in case he wishes for once to check in detail, he should have only a clearly circumscribed little problem to solve (e.g. to check an identity: two trivialities omitted can add up to an impasse). The unpractised writer, even after the dawn of a conscience, gives him no such chance; before he can spot the point he has to tease his way through a maze of symbols of which not the tiniest suffix can be skipped.
A Mathematician's Miscellany, 1953.