Somewhat Random Quotables

It is only in the popular mind that knowledge equates with facts.
That is of course flattering, since facts are incontrovertible.
But it is also demeaning, since facts are meaningless;
they contain no narrative.

-- POLANYI John Charles

The idea that there is one people in possession to the truth,
one answer to the world's ills,
or one solution to humanity's needs,
has done untold harm throughout history, especially in the last century.

-- ANNAN Kofi (2001)

The certainty of mathematics is different from the certainty one finds in other fields; it is somehow purer and therefore more powerful. To be certain is to know. What an extraordinary feeling it is to know and to know that you know! What strength there is in that position! What confidence one has when one sees into the truth of some mathematical theorem! The angles of a triangle add up to two right angles. It is not a matter of "probably," "almost always," "in our experience," or "as far as we know." None of these usual caveats apply -- there is no quibbling. If you are not completely certain, if you have the slightest doubt, then you just don't get it. Mathematical truth has this certainty, this quality of inexorability. This is its essence.

-- BYERS William (2007), How Mathematicians Think
I just love it when mathematicians get emotional.