Andrew Wiles Quotes

Mathematicians always like a deceptively difficult problem.

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

Some mathematics problems look simple, and you try them for a year or so, and then you try them for a hundred years, and it turns out that they're extremely hard to solve. There's no reason why these problems shouldn't be easy, and yet they turn out to be extremely intricate.

Mathematics is not yet ready for such problems.

I love to work. I love to have complexity.

Solving big problems is easier than solving little problems.

I'm a perfectionist. And that's served me very well in my career. It allows me to handle these large, complex problems without letting things fall through the cracks... That is the mentality you have to have to attack these complex problems of chip design, for example, when you're overwhelmed with complexity.

I have yet to see any problem, however complicated, which, when you looked at it in the right way, did not become still more complicated.

There are many people who want simple solutions, but there are none ... nor will there be.

It’s not very profitable to sit and think nowadays. So many problems, and they seem all to have such twists to them – nothing is straightforward.

We can't solve all of our problems in a short time.

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

If you go deep into a problem, you'll find most all of the time that there are yet more problems to be solved from the ground up.

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

Unfortunately, simplistic framing of problems leads to simplistic answers.

There are problems that just end up being really hard and by definition the only problems that come to my desk are the ones that nobody else can solve.

Unsolved problems, that's one of the great signs of progress in my opinion.

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

The more complex the world situation becomes, the more scientific and rational analysis you have to have, the less you can do with simple good will and sentiment.

The most difficult in the world must be easy in its beginning.

Problems in science are sometimes made easier by adding complications.

I’m not against thinking; I’m only against thinking that thinking on its own will get you out of a hole. Shovel also needed.

Pat answers to complex problems are the hallmark of intellectual mediocrity

The serious problems in life...are never fully solved. If ever they should appear to be so it is a sure sign that something has been lost. The meaning and purpose of a problem seem to lie not in its solution but in our working at it incessantly.

Our agenda, by necessity, is as complex and encompassing as the problems we face: beware of politicians promising simple solutions.