Stanislaw Ulam Quotes

My favourite subjects at school were algebra and logic: making a big problem into something small.

I try to take large, general questions that are difficult to resolve and break them down into small, very specific questions that have clear answers.

Early on, in discussions of financial oversight, people would say, 'Well, this is a very complicated problem, therefore it requires a complicated solution.' And at that step, I would say, 'Well, wait a minute. Just because it's a complicated problem doesn't mean the best course of action immediately is one that's complicated.'

No matter how complicated a problem is, it usually can be reduced to a simple, comprehensible form which is often the best solution.

The easiest way to solve a problem is to pick an easy one.

The world is complicated. But does every problem require a complicated solution?

The problem is that we attempt to solve the simplest questions cleverly, thereby rendering them unusually complex. One should seekthe simple solution.

When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop there. But if you keep going, and live with the problem and peel more layers of the onion off, you can often times arrive at some very elegant and simple solutions.

Complexity has and will maintain a strong fascination for many people. It is true that we live in a complex world and strive to solve inherently complex problems, which often do require complex mechanisms. However, this should not diminish our desire for elegant solutions, which convince by their clarity and effectiveness. Simple, elegant solutions are more effective, but they are harder to find than complex ones, and they require more time, which we too often believe to be unaffordable

Our goal is to try to bring a calm and simplicity to what are incredibly complex problems so that you're not aware really of the solution.

There is no problem so complicated that you can't find a very simple answer to it if you look at it right.

It's strange how few of the world's great problems are solved by people who remember their algebra.

To every problem, there is a most simple solution.

In the future, as in the past, the great ideas [of mathematics] must be simplifying ideas, the creator must always be one who clarifies, for himself, and for others, the most complicated issues of formulas and concepts.

No problem exists in isolation, one must first reduce it to its basic components, then tackle each component in turn.

The simple questions are always the hardest ones.

Never do anything complicated when something simple will serve as well. It's one of the most important secrets of living.

The principal goal of education is to create men who are capable of doing new things, not simply of repeating what other generations have done-men who are creative, inventive, and discovers. The second goal of education is to form minds which can be critical, can verify, and not accept everything they are offered.

If simple, painless solutions to public problems existed, they would have been found long ago.

Life-complication Theory: Given a choice between an easy solution and a complicated one, the loser will usually opt to travel the complicated path. Don't ignore a solution just because it's simple!

The aim of science is to seek the simplest explanation of complex facts. We are apt to fall into the error of thinking that the facts are simple because simplicity is the goal of our quest. The guiding motto in the life of every natural philosopher should be ''Seek simplicity and distrust it.''

One can think effectively only when one is willing to endure suspense and to undergo the trouble of searching.

Anybody can make the simple complecated. Creativity is making the complecated simple.

We fail when we try to give simple answers to complicated problems.

..things are never as complicated as they seem. It is only our arrogance that prompts us to find unnecessarily complicated answers to simple problems.