“The real satisfaction from mathematics is in learning from others and sharing with others.”

[M]athematics only exists in a living community of mathematicians that spreads understanding and breaths life into ideas both old and new. The real satisfaction from mathematics is in learning from others and sharing with others. All of us have clear understanding of a few things and murky concepts of many more. There is no way to run out of ideas in need of clarification. The question of who is the first person to ever set foot on some square meter of land is really secondary. Revolutionary change does matter, but revolutions are few, and they are not self-sustaining — they depend very heavily on the community of mathematicians.

—Bill Thurston, mathematics professor at Cornell and a Fields medalist, who passed away on Tuesday.

I also recommend Thurston’s 1994 essay “On proof and progress in mathematics”.