"I constructed this space eight years before string theory became an important subject. I just thought that it was exotic and beautiful. I couldn't imagine that any other space could be more beautiful. We went on to many discoveries in math. And then, to my great surprise, the string theorists came along, and all these great people in string theory came to ask me how this space was constructed. I was really excited by the possibility that such spaces could be used to understand nature."
Shing-Tung Yau
