Mario Livio Quote

The Greek excellence in mathematics was largely a direct consequence of their passion for knowledge for its own sake, rather than merely for practical purposes. A story has it that when a student who learned one geometrical proposition with Euclid asked, But what do I gain from this? Euclid told his slave to give the boy a coin, so that the student would see an actual profit.

Mario Livio

The Greek excellence in mathematics was largely a direct consequence of their passion for knowledge for its own sake, rather than merely for practical purposes. A story has it that when a student who learned one geometrical proposition with Euclid asked, But what do I gain from this? Euclid told his slave to give the boy a coin, so that the student would see an actual profit.

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