Marston Morse

Harold Calvin Marston Morse (24 March 1892 – 22 June 1977) was an American mathematician best known for his work on the calculus of variations in the large, a subject where he introduced the technique of differential topology now known as Morse theory. The Morse–Palais lemma, one of the key results in Morse theory, is named after him, as is the Thue–Morse sequence, an infinite binary sequence with many applications. In 1933 he was awarded the Bôcher Memorial Prize for his work in mathematical analysis.

Quotes

• Discovery in mathematics is not a matter of logic. It is rather the result of mysterious powers which no one understands, and in which unconscious recognition of beauty must play an important part. Out of an infinity of designs, a mathematician chooses one pattern for beauty's sake and pulls it down to earth.
  • Attributed in Chaplin, Virginia. "Princeton & Mathematics: A Notable Record". Princeton Alumni Weekly (May 9, 1958).

• The creative scientist lives in a 'wildness of logic,' where reason is the handmaiden and not the master.
  • Attributed in Chaplin, Virginia. "Princeton & Mathematics: A Notable Record". Princeton Alumni Weekly (May 9, 1958).

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