Von Neumann went on to say that one need not be surprised at this small number, since about 1,000 words were known to be adequate for most situations of real life, and mathematics was only a small part of life, and a very simple part at that. This caused some hilarity in the audience, which provoked Von Neumann to say: "If people do not believe that mathematics is simple, it is only because they do not realize how complicated life is."