Commencement Speeches for Mathematicians
Ten graduation-speech platitudes rewritten for mathematicians: prove it's impossible and then give up, make an even number of sign errors, you are your world's integral, and choose your own axioms.
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Cartoon by Ben Orlin, Math with Bad Drawings. https://cartoons.mathwithbaddrawings.com/2017-06-07-commencement-speeches-for-mathematicians/ (CC BY-NC 4.0)Transcript
[1] "If something seems impossible, don't just give up! First, prove it's impossible. Then give up."
[2] "Ask yourself three questions. First: Where am I? Second: Where do I want to be? And third: how can I smoothly parameterize the path between them?"
[3] "It's a mistake to seek your 'true' identity. We all have two identities: multiplicative and additive."
[4] "Expect setbacks. Hard work pays off, but r ≠ 1."
[5] "Be the change you want to see in the world. This makes the world your integral with respect to time. That's a pretty sweet claim to fame."
[6] "Look, we all make mistakes. Your goal isn't to make no sign errors; it's to make an even number."
[7] "Do not define a man by his wealth. Among other drawbacks, that would create confusing equivalence classes of indistinguishable men."
[8] "Logic can guide you along the path, but choosing the axioms is up to you."
[9] "Believe this: all problems have solutions, or at least cheap approximations good enough for industry."
[10] "Your life is like a bit of mathematical symbolism. In isolation, it is just an abstraction, signifying nothing. But the moment you apply it to a real problem, it gains meaning."