> 'All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them' There are plenty of things that are difficult to understand that

> 'All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them' There are plenty of things that are difficult to understand that have been known by others for a long time. The point is that you don't understand those things. Your understanding of something doesn't benefit from someone else understanding it, per se. I will agree that having a guide does make it easier. > If knowing was the valuable part, then nobody would need a PhD. You could know more by just reading textbooks. Research mathematicians research, everybody else just learns. Knowing is the most valuable part! It's the whole point of research! And where knowledge is concerned, there isn't a sharp line between what constitutes "learning" and what constitutes "research". How do you know a claim in a book is correct? You can take it on authority and just believe it. Or, you can seek to verify it yourself. As far as your own mind is concerned, you've discovered something for yourself. And what is a researcher doing? He's inferring things and reasoning and verifying his inferences. These are activities you use both during learning and during research.