Seeking an Eilenberg quote
It seems to me I somewhere read that Eilenberg told his students you should not be able to explain a theorem you prove. That is, the right proof of the right theorem will clearer itself than any purported explanation could. Can anyone give me a good source for that, or for something like it? Or is it just not a reliable memory? best, Colin [For admin and other information see: http://www.mta.ca/~cat-dist/ ]
Colin McLarty asked recently whether ...
... Eilenberg told his students you should not be able to explain a theorem you prove. That is, the right proof of the right theorem will clearer itself than any purported explanation could.
Mmm ... More in keeping with Sammy's aesthetic might have been to suggest You should not NEED to explain any PROOF of a theorem you prove -- that is, the right proof will be completely self-explanatory. But I don't think that, in all the years I was exposed to him, I ever heard him say such a thing explicitly :-) . Cheers, -- Fred [For admin and other information see: http://www.mta.ca/~cat-dist/ ]
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Colin McLarty -
Fred Linton