How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking

by Jordan Ellenberg

A mathematician is always asking, “What assumptions are you making? And are they justified?”

But there is a grave danger that the subject will develop along the line of least resistance,

What you learn after a long time in math—and I think the lesson applies much more broadly—is that there’s always somebody ahead of you, whether they’re right there in class with you or not.

Genius is a thing that happens, not a kind of person.