Discrete Groups

Famous quotes containing the words discrete and/or groups:

“The mastery of one’s phonemes may be compared to the violinist’s mastery of fingering. The violin string lends itself to a continuous gradation of tones, but the musician learns the discrete intervals at which to stop the string in order to play the conventional notes. We sound our phonemes like poor violinists, approximating each time to a fancied norm, and we receive our neighbor’s renderings indulgently, mentally rectifying the more glaring inaccuracies.”
—W.V. Quine (b. 1908)

“And seniors grow tomorrow
From the juniors today,
And even swimming groups can fade,
Games mistresses turn grey.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)