André Weil

Every mathematician worthy of the name has experienced the state of lucid exaltation in which one thought succeeds another as if miraculously. This feeling may last for hours at a time, even for days.

André Weil (6 May 1906 – 6 August 1998) was one of the greatest mathematicians of the 20th century, whether measured by his research work, its influence on future work, exposition or breadth. He is known for his foundational work in number theory and algebraic geometry. He was a founding member, and de facto the early leader, of the influential Bourbaki group. The philosopher Simone Weil was his sister.

Sourced

• God exists since mathematics is consistent, and the Devil exists since we cannot prove it.
  • As quoted in Mathematical Circles Adieu (Boston 1977) by H Eves

• Every mathematician worthy of the name has experienced the state of lucid exaltation in which one thought succeeds another as if miraculously. This feeling may last for hours at a time, even for days. Once you have experienced it, you are eager to repeat it but unable to do it at will, unless perhaps by dogged work.
  • The Apprenticeship of a Mathematician (1992)

• First rate mathematicians choose first rate people, but second rate mathematicians choose third rate people.
  • As quoted in Comic Sections (Dublin 1993) by D MacHale

External links

• "André Weil", at the MacTutor History of Mathematics archive .
• André Weil : memorial articles in the Notices of the American Mathematical Society
• A 1940 Letter of André Weil on Analogy in Mathematics
• "Andre Weil, Who Reshaped Mathematics, Is Dead at 92" by Ford Burkhart in The New York Times (10 August 1998)
• "The lives they lived: Andre Weil; Numbers Man" by Paul Hoffman in The New York Times (3 January 1999)
• Artless innocents and ivory-tower sophisticates: Some personalities on the Indian mathematical scene by M. S. Raghunathan
• Image of Weil