"More than any of his predecessors Plato appreciated the scientific possibilities of geometry. .. By his teaching he laid the foundations of the science, insisting upon accurate definitions, clear assumptions, and logical proof. His opposition to the materialists, who saw in geometry only what was immediately useful to the artisan and the mechanic is... clear. ...That Plato should hold the view... is not a cause for surprise. The world's thinkers have always held it. No man has ever created a mathematical theory for practical purposes alone. The applications of mathematics have generally been an afterthought."
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People from New York (state)Editors from the United StatesEducators from the United StatesMathematicians from the United States
Original Language: English
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https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Eugene_Smith
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David Eugene Smith
(January 21, 1860 – July 29, 1944) was an American mathematician, educator, and editor.
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