Mathematics without Apologies

Portrait of a Problematic Vocation

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Mathematics, History, Science
Cover of the book Mathematics without Apologies by Michael Harris, Michael Harris, Princeton University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Michael Harris, Michael Harris ISBN: 9781400885527
Publisher: Princeton University Press Publication: May 30, 2017
Imprint: Princeton University Press Language: English
Author: Michael Harris, Michael Harris
ISBN: 9781400885527
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication: May 30, 2017
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Language: English

What do pure mathematicians do, and why do they do it? Looking beyond the conventional answers—for the sake of truth, beauty, and practical applications—this book offers an eclectic panorama of the lives and values and hopes and fears of mathematicians in the twenty-first century, assembling material from a startlingly diverse assortment of scholarly, journalistic, and pop culture sources.

Drawing on his personal experiences and obsessions as well as the thoughts and opinions of mathematicians from Archimedes and Omar Khayyám to such contemporary giants as Alexander Grothendieck and Robert Langlands, Michael Harris reveals the charisma and romance of mathematics as well as its darker side. In this portrait of mathematics as a community united around a set of common intellectual, ethical, and existential challenges, he touches on a wide variety of questions, such as: Are mathematicians to blame for the 2008 financial crisis? How can we talk about the ideas we were born too soon to understand? And how should you react if you are asked to explain number theory at a dinner party?

Disarmingly candid, relentlessly intelligent, and richly entertaining, Mathematics without Apologies takes readers on an unapologetic guided tour of the mathematical life, from the philosophy and sociology of mathematics to its reflections in film and popular music, with detours through the mathematical and mystical traditions of Russia, India, medieval Islam, the Bronx, and beyond.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

What do pure mathematicians do, and why do they do it? Looking beyond the conventional answers—for the sake of truth, beauty, and practical applications—this book offers an eclectic panorama of the lives and values and hopes and fears of mathematicians in the twenty-first century, assembling material from a startlingly diverse assortment of scholarly, journalistic, and pop culture sources.

Drawing on his personal experiences and obsessions as well as the thoughts and opinions of mathematicians from Archimedes and Omar Khayyám to such contemporary giants as Alexander Grothendieck and Robert Langlands, Michael Harris reveals the charisma and romance of mathematics as well as its darker side. In this portrait of mathematics as a community united around a set of common intellectual, ethical, and existential challenges, he touches on a wide variety of questions, such as: Are mathematicians to blame for the 2008 financial crisis? How can we talk about the ideas we were born too soon to understand? And how should you react if you are asked to explain number theory at a dinner party?

Disarmingly candid, relentlessly intelligent, and richly entertaining, Mathematics without Apologies takes readers on an unapologetic guided tour of the mathematical life, from the philosophy and sociology of mathematics to its reflections in film and popular music, with detours through the mathematical and mystical traditions of Russia, India, medieval Islam, the Bronx, and beyond.

More books from Princeton University Press

Cover of the book We, the People of Europe? by Michael Harris, Michael Harris
Cover of the book Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Volume 5 by Michael Harris, Michael Harris
Cover of the book Measuring Tomorrow by Michael Harris, Michael Harris
Cover of the book Nuclear Logics by Michael Harris, Michael Harris
Cover of the book The Backyard Birdsong Guide Eastern and Central North America by Michael Harris, Michael Harris
Cover of the book Locus of Authority by Michael Harris, Michael Harris
Cover of the book American Jesuits and the World by Michael Harris, Michael Harris
Cover of the book The Roman Market Economy by Michael Harris, Michael Harris
Cover of the book Why Stock Markets Crash by Michael Harris, Michael Harris
Cover of the book International Finance by Michael Harris, Michael Harris
Cover of the book Creating the National Pastime by Michael Harris, Michael Harris
Cover of the book Lost Enlightenment by Michael Harris, Michael Harris
Cover of the book When Is True Belief Knowledge? by Michael Harris, Michael Harris
Cover of the book Birds of New Guinea by Michael Harris, Michael Harris
Cover of the book Magical Mathematics by Michael Harris, Michael Harris
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy