10 Quotes & Sayings By Henri Poincare

Henri Poincare (1854–1912) was a French mathematician and physicist. He is best known for his work on the three-body problem and four-dimensional continuum. He is often cited as the inventor of the concept of space-time, which had been previously proposed by Albert Einstein in 1905 and by Hermann Minkowski (1908). As a scientist and an engineer, he invented the Poincaré sphere, a precursor to the modern gyrocompass Read more

Henri Poincare was also known for his work in astrophysics and relativity, and in mathematics.

1
Science is built of facts the way a house is built of bricks but an accumulation of facts is no more science than a pile of bricks is a house. Henri Poincare
2
Absolute space, that is to say, the mark to which it would be necessary to refer the earth to know whether it really moves, has no objective existence. Henri Poincare
3
If nature were not beautiful, it would not be worth knowing, and if nature were not worth knowing, life would not be worth living. Henri Poincare
4
The scientist does not study nature because it is useful; he studies it because he delights in it, and he delights in it because it is beautiful. Henri Poincare
5
A scientist worthy of his name, about all a mathematician, experiences in his work the same impression as an artist; his pleasure is as great and of the same nature. Henri Poincare
6
If we knew exactly the laws of nature and the situation of the universe at the initial moment, we could predict exactly the situation of the same universe at a succeeding moment. Henri Poincare
7
It is through science that we prove, but through intuition that we discover. Henri Poincare
8
Science is built up of facts, as a house is with stones. But a collection of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house. Henri Poincare
9
A very small cause which escapes our notice determines a considerable effect that we cannot fail to see, and then we say that the effect is due to chance. Henri Poincare