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About this quote

What does it mean?
Mathematicians build on each other's work.
In plain terms
Progress is cumulative.
What can you take from it?
Share and build on existing results.

Where it applies

  • research
  • education
  • open source

Putting it to work

  • cite prior work
  • collaborate across fields

Questions to consider

  • How does collaboration accelerate discovery?
  • What are barriers to sharing?

Another view

Individual breakthroughs still occur.

More from Carl Friedrich Gauss

  1. Life stands before me like an eternal spring with new and brilliant clothes.

    Permalink to quote #20
  2. The total number of Dirichlet's publications is not large: jewels are not weighed on a grocery scale.

    Permalink to quote #22
  3. God does arithmetic.

    Permalink to quote #19

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