"To him mathematics was a unified subject that one could master broadly. He had a deep understanding of most areas, and he taught advanced courses in logic, analysis, differential equations, algebra, topology, Lie theory, and number theory on a regular basis. He felt that good mathematics should be easy to understand and that it is always based on simple ideas once you get to the bottom of the issue. This attitude extended to a strong belief that the well-recognized unsolved problems in mathematics are the heart of the subject and have clear and transparent solutions once the right new ideas and viewpoints are found. This belief gave him the courage to work on notoriously difficult problems throughout his career."
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Academics from the United StatesJews from the United StatesPeople from New JerseyMathematicians from the United StatesLogicians from the United States
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Peter Sarnak in (quote on p.824)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Paul_Cohen
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Paul Cohen
Paul Joseph Cohen (April 2, 1934 – March 23, 2007) was an American mathematician and logician, best known for his proofs that the continuum hypothesis and the axiom of choice are independent from Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory, for which he was awarded a Fields Medal.
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