Michael Atiyah

Topics: learning, creativity, mathematics

• I always want to try to understand why things work. I'm not interested in getting a formula without knowing what it means. I always try to dig behind the scenes, so if I have a formula, I understand why it's there. And understanding is a very difficult notion

  — Michael Atiyah

• You're trying to create, just as a musician is trying to create music, or a poet. There are no rules

  — Michael Atiyah