Ideas wear less with time than words do, making mathematical patterns more durable

Evidence

The poverty of the ideas seems hardly to affect the beauty of the verbal pattern. A mathematician, on the other hand, has no material to work with but ideas, and so his patterns are likely to last longer, since ideas wear less with time than words. — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 168

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 168
• XREF: connects to: Mathematical patterns outlast artistic ones because they are built purely out of ideas — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 166; Mathematical work is valuable as a memorial in the same way art is — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 294; Mathematical facts are true independently of human thought — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 264 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Mathematical work is valuable as a memorial in the same way art is #expands (0.60) — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 294
• Mathematical facts are true independently of human thought #corroborates (0.55) — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 264