Always one to enjoy controversy, when invited to speak at various university mathematics department seminars, Bellman delighted in justifying his choice of applied over pure mathematics as being motivated by the real world's greater challenges and mathematical demands.
Laging isa upang tamasahin makipagtalo, kapag inanyayahan upang makipag-usap sa iba't-ibang unibersidad sa matematika department seminar, Bellman delighted in justifying kanyang pagpili ng ilalapat sa purong matematika bilang motivated ng tunay na mundo mas hamon at matematika demands.