To praise it would amount to praising myself. For the entire content of the work... coincides almost exactly with my own meditations which have occupied my mind for the past thirty or thirty-five years .
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Gauss feels his work mirrors his own long‑standing thoughts, so praising it is like praising himself.
- In plain terms
- His work is essentially his own ideas.
- What can you take from it?
- Recognize when your output reflects your own thinking.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How often do we see our own ideas reflected in others work?
- When is it appropriate to claim credit for shared concepts?
Another view
May overlook contributions from others.
More from Carl Friedrich Gauss
We must admit with humility that, while number is purely a product of our minds, space has a reality outside our minds, so that we cannot completely prescribe …
Permalink to quote #4 I will add that I have recently received from Hungary a little paper on non-Euclidean geometry in which I rediscover all my own ideas and results worked out wi…
Permalink to quote #6 It is not knowledge, but the act of learning, not possession but the act of getting there, which grants the greatest enjoyment. When I have clarified and exhau…
Permalink to quote #3
Related quotes
Light and matter are both single entities, and the apparent duality arises in the limitations of our language. It is not surprising that our language should be…
Werner HeisenbergWerner Heisenberg quote #2 In Germany there is much complaining about my 'eccentricities.' But since it is not known where my center is, it won't be easy to find out where or when I have…
Friedrich NietzscheFriedrich Nietzsche quote #3 The tao that can be described is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be spoken is not the eternal Name. The nameless is the boundary of Heaven and Earth. Th…
Lao TzuLao Tzu quote #4