Mathematical patterns outlast artistic ones because they are built purely out of ideas

Evidence

A MATHEMATICIAN, like a painter or a poet, is a maker of patterns. If his patterns are more permanent than theirs, it is because they are made with ideas. A painter makes patterns with shapes and colours, a poet with words. A painting may embody an ‘idea’, but the idea is usually commonplace and unimportant. In poetry, ideas count for a good deal more; but, as Housman insisted, the importance of ideas in poetry is habitually exaggerated — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 166

Categorization

• DEFINE: Hardy’s core definition: the mathematician is a maker of patterns in ideas, which is the foundation of his whole apology.
• XREF: Connects to the chapter’s central thesis and to Hardy’s earlier insistence on permanence as the mathematician’s goal. — connects to: Ideas wear less with time than words do, making mathematical patterns more durable — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 168; Mathematical proofs gain beauty through economy and lack of variation — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 237; Mathematical work is valuable as a memorial in the same way art is — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 294 (+3 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 166

Broader Connections

• Ideas wear less with time than words do, making mathematical patterns more durable #corroborates (0.90) — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 168
• Mathematical facts are true independently of human thought #expands (0.60) — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 264
• Sculptures and architecture provide lasting patterns for future artistic endeavors. #contradicts (0.60) — Neil MacGregor, A History of the World in 100 Objects, 674
• Mathematical work is valuable as a memorial in the same way art is #expands (0.50) — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 294
• Mathematical proofs gain beauty through economy and lack of variation #qualifies (0.40) — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 237