“Many of the most successful scientists in the world today are mathematically no more than semiliterate. Pioneers in science only rarely make discoveries by extracting ideas from pure mathematics. Most of the stereotypical photographs of scientists studying rows of equations on a blackboard are instructors explaining discoveries already made. Real progress comes in the field writing notes, at the office amid a litter of doodled paper, in the hallway struggling to explain something to a friend, or eating lunch alone. Eureka moments require hard work. And focus. Ideas in science emerge most readily when some part of the world is studied for its own sake.”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323611604578398943650327184.html
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