Why Beauty Is Truth

The History of Symmetry

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, Biological Sciences
Cover of the book Why Beauty Is Truth by Ian Stewart, Basic Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Ian Stewart ISBN: 9780465008759
Publisher: Basic Books Publication: August 2, 2007
Imprint: Basic Books Language: English
Author: Ian Stewart
ISBN: 9780465008759
Publisher: Basic Books
Publication: August 2, 2007
Imprint: Basic Books
Language: English

At the heart of relativity theory, quantum mechanics, string theory, and much of modern cosmology lies one concept: symmetry. In Why Beauty Is Truth, world-famous mathematician Ian Stewart narrates the history of the emergence of this remarkable area of study. Stewart introduces us to such characters as the Renaissance Italian genius, rogue, scholar, and gambler Girolamo Cardano, who stole the modern method of solving cubic equations and published it in the first important book on algebra, and the young revolutionary Evariste Galois, who refashioned the whole of mathematics and founded the field of group theory only to die in a pointless duel over a woman before his work was published. Stewart also explores the strange numerology of real mathematics, in which particular numbers have unique and unpredictable properties related to symmetry. He shows how Wilhelm Killing discovered “Lie groups” with 14, 52, 78, 133, and 248 dimensions-groups whose very existence is a profound puzzle. Finally, Stewart describes the world beyond superstrings: the “octonionic” symmetries that may explain the very existence of the universe.

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

At the heart of relativity theory, quantum mechanics, string theory, and much of modern cosmology lies one concept: symmetry. In Why Beauty Is Truth, world-famous mathematician Ian Stewart narrates the history of the emergence of this remarkable area of study. Stewart introduces us to such characters as the Renaissance Italian genius, rogue, scholar, and gambler Girolamo Cardano, who stole the modern method of solving cubic equations and published it in the first important book on algebra, and the young revolutionary Evariste Galois, who refashioned the whole of mathematics and founded the field of group theory only to die in a pointless duel over a woman before his work was published. Stewart also explores the strange numerology of real mathematics, in which particular numbers have unique and unpredictable properties related to symmetry. He shows how Wilhelm Killing discovered “Lie groups” with 14, 52, 78, 133, and 248 dimensions-groups whose very existence is a profound puzzle. Finally, Stewart describes the world beyond superstrings: the “octonionic” symmetries that may explain the very existence of the universe.

More books from Basic Books

Cover of the book Advice to War Presidents by Ian Stewart
Cover of the book Why Orwell Matters by Ian Stewart
Cover of the book The Man Who Found Time by Ian Stewart
Cover of the book Hadrian's Wall by Ian Stewart
Cover of the book The World Through Arab Eyes by Ian Stewart
Cover of the book Book by Book by Ian Stewart
Cover of the book The Twilight of the American Enlightenment by Ian Stewart
Cover of the book Weather by Ian Stewart
Cover of the book Book Lovers by Ian Stewart
Cover of the book The Hip-Hop Generation by Ian Stewart
Cover of the book Acquiring Genomes by Ian Stewart
Cover of the book The Folly of Fools by Ian Stewart
Cover of the book Nature's Numbers by Ian Stewart
Cover of the book The Red Prince by Ian Stewart
Cover of the book Desire by Ian Stewart
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