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Who is the author of the following quote?

 any identity, once written down, is trivial

I have seen it attributed to Halmos and to Littlewood but I am unable to locate its source.

coudy
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  • You say you have seen it attributed to two writers. Where did you see that? It may help someone track down the author. – coffeemath May 19 '21 at 16:32
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    How is this related to Mathematics? – p_square May 19 '21 at 16:33
  • A simple google full search on the quote leads to an article attributing the quote to Littlewood. I guess I read the quote without attribution in one of the book of Halmos but I can't remember which one. – coudy May 19 '21 at 16:35
  • @Algebrology This refers to identities from mathematics. Probably algebraic ones. I wonder which one triggered the quote. – coudy May 19 '21 at 16:37
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    Just found this: https://books.google.ch/books?id=FEb_4fo6T64C&pg=PA34&lpg=PA34&dq=%22all+identities+are+trivial%22+(+once+they+have+been+written+down+by+someone+else&source=bl&ots=6byE1ksYkI&sig=ACfU3U2Fwom6f8VIELxWmTEIdrigBzkRWA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjUmOCrl9bwAhWPG-wKHSlgAR4Q6AEwAXoECAgQAw#v=onepage&q=%22all%20identities%20are%20trivial%22%20(%20once%20they%20have%20been%20written%20down%20by%20someone%20else&f=false – user3733558 May 19 '21 at 16:39
  • Here's another instance. Also here. – Elliot Yu May 19 '21 at 16:47
  • Another instance https://books.google.ch/books?id=9tUrarQYhKMC&pg=PA5742&lpg=PA5742&dq=Littlewood+Principle+%22identity%22+trivial&source=bl&ots=26BsTRgwcL&sig=ACfU3U3HznDbdfMPTwOaAP2PBuxs3iOPRQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjs59_8mdbwAhVHuKQKHSGPCxcQ6AEwEnoECBMQAw#v=onepage&q=Littlewood%20Principle%20%22identity%22%20trivial&f=false more authoritative perhaps. – user3733558 May 19 '21 at 16:52
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    Considering the instances found so far come from two main authors, J. W. S. Cassels, and David Masser, who both have ties to Trinity College, Cambridge, where Littlewood worked, I'm guessing that this is some kind of departmental myth that gets passed down over the years. Note that Masser is a direct academic descendant of Littlewood, according to mathgeneology.org. – Elliot Yu May 19 '21 at 16:53
  • @coudy, oh ok, I didn't know that – p_square May 19 '21 at 17:07
  • @coudy This question might get an answer at https://hsm.stackexchange.com/. – Alp Uzman Feb 17 '22 at 16:59

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