Marcus du Sautoy Quotes

By all means, have you give great attention to your arithmetic, as its advantages are so many and important.

I always thought that I was okay with arithmetic.

I'm probably one of the worst people with numbers you've ever met. My brothers always kid that they think I'm counting cards in Vegas, but I'm just trying to add things up.

We have a culture where it’s OK to not know anything about mathematics whereas in Asia, they don’t

Only 18 percent of American adults can calculate how much a carpet will cost if they know the size of the room and the per-yard price of the carpet.

When I was little, I carried a book of times tables around everywhere and always tried to get the best score. I like the fact that you don't need any tools, only your head. I also enjoy rules and, with maths, you are either right or wrong.

I'll try if I know all the things I used to know. Let me see: four times five is twelve, and four times six is thirteen, and four times seven is - oh dear! I shall never get to twenty at that rate!

Without mathematics, there's nothing you can do. Everything around you is mathematics. Everything around you is numbers.

I just am not good at math.

I have an abacus at home.

When I multiply numbers together, I see two shapes. The image starts to change and evolve, and a third shape emerges. That's the answer. It's mental imagery. It's like maths without having to think.

Stand firm in your refusal to remain conscious during algebra. In real life, I assure you, there is no such thing as algebra.

Math? Forget about it. If I add four plus eight plus six, I have to count on my fingers. I guess I'm hooked up differently.

And they're also very good at math, these super boogers, and so they teach Billy the ways of mathematics.

Every math curriculum in the world is based on the idea of hand-calculating, and most of what you're teaching is how to calculate. And I think the resistance to this is very variable.

Whenever you can, count.

Mathematics seems to endow one with something like a new sense.

I can do lightning mathematics quicker than somebody can do them on a calculator.

My sister taught me addition and subtraction and multiplication and division, so by the time I got to school, I knew it all, and when we'd do the times tables, I was just focused on doing it faster than anybody else. I already had the information, so it just got me to focus on excellence.

Being bad at maths shouldn't be something to brag about, and I'm glad people are waking up to this, but there's no reason be embarrassed to look for help when it comes to numeracy.

I am very bad with numbers.

Numbers have always come easy to me.

I'm not good at math.

The ultimate goal of mathematics is to eliminate all need for intelligent thought.

I was just kind of doing the math.