Broadly speaking, pure mathematics is mathematics which studies entirely abstract concepts. From the eighteenth century onwards, this was a recognized category of mathematical activity, sometimes characterized as speculative mathematics, and at variance with the trend towards meeting the needs of navigation, astronomy, physics, engineering, and so on. Another insightful view put forth is that pure mathematics is not necessarily applied mathematics.
Read more about Pure Mathematics: Generality and Abstraction, Purism, Subfields
Famous quotes containing the words pure and/or mathematics:
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When June is past, the fading rose;
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These flowers, as in their causes, sleep.
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“... though mathematics may teach a man how to build a bridge, it is what the Scotch Universities call the humanities, that teach him to be civil and sweet-tempered.”
—Amelia E. Barr (18311919)