How to tell when someone is really good at something: ask who's better.
-
-
Replying to @paulg
Michel de Montaigne made much the same point in the 16th century.
1 reply 0 retweets 1 like -
Replying to @MathPrinceps
Can you find the quote? I'd be very interested to see what he said.
1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes -
Replying to @paulg
Yes, certainly. I'm far from my copy of his essays at the moment, but will cite him properly as soon as I can.
1 reply 0 retweets 1 like -
Replying to @MathPrinceps @paulg
I believe the key passage belongs to his essay "On Practice." But I must trust to memory for this, and may be wrong.
2 replies 0 retweets 1 like -
Replying to @MathPrinceps @paulg
Also, here's Conan Doyle, echoing La Rochefoucauld: "Mediocrity knows nothing greater than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius."
1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes -
Replying to @MathPrinceps
Paul Graham Retweeted Paul Graham
I think you may be responding to a different idea than I meant.https://twitter.com/paulg/status/850458890579976193 …
Paul Graham added,
1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes -
Replying to @paulg
Would you consider G H Hardy a modest man? He himself did not. Yet he placed Ramanujan and Hilbert much higher than himself.
1 reply 2 retweets 1 like -
Replying to @MathPrinceps
I'm not saying you're mistaken, just that this is a different idea than I was talking about.
1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes -
Replying to @paulg
Forgive me; I assure you that I had no intention to misconstrue your meaning. Do you remain interested in the Montaigne quote I had in mind?
1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
A footnote: Lagrange bowed to Euler, Gauss to Newton, and Newton to Archimedes -- without hesitation or embarrassment. Even geniuses defer.
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.