My belief is that nothing that can be expressed by mathematics cannot be expressed by careful use of literary words.
Interpretation
Mathematics and literature can both effectively convey complex ideas.
Paul Samuelson's quote emphasizes the idea that the clarity and precision of mathematics can also be mirrored through the careful use of language. It suggests that while mathematics is often seen as a rigid and purely logical field, the ability to articulate concepts through words can equally express complex thoughts, showcasing the power of language and its importance alongside mathematical reasoning.
In practice
During a lecture on the importance of interdisciplinary studies, I could cite this quote to underline how both math and literature convey profound truths.
To a person of analytical ability, perceptive enough to realise that mathematical equipment was a powerful sword in economics, the world of economics was his or her oyster in 1935. The terrain was strewn with beautiful theorems begging to be picked up and arranged in unified order.
I can't think of a president who has been overburdened by a knowledge of economics.
Politicians like to tell people what they want to hear - and what they want to hear is what won't happen.
My family was well off but not rich. I spent the four years I was an undergraduate working on the beach. And it wasn't because I was lazy; it was because my freshman class would go to a hundred different employers and wouldn't get a nibble. That was a disequilibrium system. I realized that the ordinary old-fashioned Euclidean geometry didn't apply.
Economics has never been a science - and it is even less now than a few years ago.
There's nothing in Keynesian economics that would allow you to solve stagflation. But there's nothing in neoclassical economics that would allow you to solve stagflation, either.
Research shows that children do better in school and are less likely to drop out when fathers are involved. Engaged parents can strengthen communities, mentor and tutor students, and demonstrate through their actions how much they value their children's education.
My custom is to read four or five chapters of the Bible every morning immediately after rising. It seems to me the most suitable manner of beginning the day. It is an invaluable and inexhaustible mine of knowledge and virtue.
We must do our best to raise the public awareness of the past in all its richness and complexity.
I keep six honest serving men (they taught me all i knew); Theirs names are What and Why and When And How And Where and Who.
No one can teach writing, but classes may stimulate the urge to write. If you are born a writer, you will inevitably and helplessly write. A born writer has self-knowledge. Read, read, read. And if you are a fiction writer, don't confine yourself to reading fiction. Every writer is first a wide reader.
Vocabulary enables us to interpret and to express. If you have a limited vocabulary, you will also have a limited vision and a limited future.
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