Trivial Solution

Famous quotes containing the words trivial and/or solution:

    Oh, blank confusion! true epitome
    Of what the mighty city is herself,
    To thousands upon thousands of her sons,
    Living amid the same perpetual whirl
    Of trivial objects, melted and reduced
    To one identity, by differences
    That have no law, no meaning, and no end—
    William Wordsworth (1770–1850)

    Give a scientist a problem and he will probably provide a solution; historians and sociologists, by contrast, can offer only opinions. Ask a dozen chemists the composition of an organic compound such as methane, and within a short time all twelve will have come up with the same solution of CH4. Ask, however, a dozen economists or sociologists to provide policies to reduce unemployment or the level of crime and twelve widely differing opinions are likely to be offered.
    Derek Gjertsen, British scientist, author. Science and Philosophy: Past and Present, ch. 3, Penguin (1989)