Meandering on . . .

Today is the birthday of Blaise Pascal (June 19, 1623 – August 19, 1662), mathematician, philosopher and physicist. He is credited with inventing the Pascaline, an early calculator.

"In spite of years of ill health and a short life, Pascal accomplished quite a bit: he published a significant work on the geometry of conical sections when he was only sixteen; he invented a calculating machine by the time he was nineteen; he and Pierre de Fermat founded the modern theory of probability; he described the principle that is the basis for the hydraulic press (called Pascal's Law); and he proved that there was a vacuum above the atmosphere. Pascal had a religious conversion in the 1650s and devoted himself to religion instead of science. He is famous for the philosophical theorem known as Pascal's Wager." direct quote source (1)

"Our achievements of today are but the sum total of our thoughts of yesterday. You are today where the thoughts of yesterday have brought you and you will be tomorrow where the thoughts of today take you." - Blaise Pascal

"Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established, that, unless we love the truth, we cannot know it." - Blaise Pascal


"Justice and power must be brought together, so that whatever is just may be powerful, and whatever is powerful may be just." - Blaise Pascal

"All men's miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone." - Blaise Pascal

"The heart has reasons which reason knows nothing of." - Blaise Pascal

"You always admire what you really don't understand." - Blaise Pascal

"Kind words do not cost much. Yet they accomplish much." - Blaise Pascal

"Imagination decides everything." - Blaise Pascal

Trivia bit: The computer programming language "Pascal" is named after him.

Pascal image source (1)

Pascal stamp image source (1)