It should be said that this sentence is not a proverb, but a slogan, which inspired many people to study hard and grow into useful talents in society at that time.
It is undoubtedly ridiculous to look at this sentence now. Nowadays, the diversification of social development, simple learning of mathematics and physics has long been a basic requirement, and it is no longer the expression of knowledge.
However, when this sentence was first put forward, it was the age when the popularization rate of knowledge education in China was very low. At that time, the country was in the stage of poverty, and everything had to be done, and talents were urgently needed to promote social development. At that time, it was important and positive to advocate learning basic knowledge.
In an era when people who can write couplets for New Year's greetings are all intellectuals, mathematics and physics were still in a very high position in people's minds at that time, so learning mathematics and physics well was used to represent knowledge and culture.
So when we understand a sentence, we should combine it with the social background at that time. What this sentence wants to express should be: study hard scientific and cultural knowledge, improve your talents in all aspects, and make yourself a useful person, then you can become a useful person anywhere.