Fearless Symmetry: Exposing the Hidden Patterns of Numbers - Rilegato

Ash, Avner; Gross, Robert

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 0691124922 ISBN 13: 9780691124926

Casa editrice: Princeton Univ Pr, 2006

Riassunto

Mathematicians solve equations, or try to. But sometimes the solutions are not as interesting as the beautiful symmetric patterns that lead to them. Written in a friendly style for a general audience,Fearless Symmetry is the first popular math book to discuss these elegant and mysterious patterns and the ingenious techniques mathematicians use to uncover them.

Hidden symmetries were first discovered nearly two hundred years ago by French mathematician Évariste Galois. They have been used extensively in the oldest and largest branch of mathematics--number theory--for such diverse applications as acoustics, radar, and codes and ciphers. They have also been employed in the study of Fibonacci numbers and to attack well-known problems such as Fermat's Last Theorem, Pythagorean Triples, and the ever-elusive Riemann Hypothesis. Mathematicians are still devising techniques for teasing out these mysterious patterns, and their uses are limited only by the imagination.

The first popular book to address representation theory and reciprocity laws, Fearless Symmetry focuses on how mathematicians solve equations and prove theorems. It discusses rules of math and why they are just as important as those in any games one might play. The book starts with basic properties of integers and permutations and reaches current research in number theory. Along the way, it takes delightful historical and philosophical digressions. Required reading for all math buffs, the book will appeal to anyone curious about popular mathematics and its myriad contributions to everyday life.

Su questo libro

Informazioni sull?autore

Avner Ash is Professor of Mathematics at Boston College. He is the author (with D. Mumford, M. Rapoport, and Y. Tai) of "Smooth Compactification of Locally Symmetric Varieties". Robert Gross is Associate Professor of Mathematics at Boston College.

Dalla quarta di copertina

"All too often, abstract mathematics, one of the most beautiful of human intellectual creations, is ground into the dry dust of drills and proofs. Useful, yes; exciting, no. Avner Ash and Robert Gross have done something different--by focusing on the ideas that modern mathematicians actually care about. Fearless Symmetry is a book about detecting hidden patterns, about finding definitions that clarify, about the study of numbers that has entranced some of our great thinkers for thousands of years. It is a book that takes on number theory in a way that a nonmathematician can follow-systematically but without a barrage of technicalities. Ash and Gross are two terrific guides who take the reader, scientist or layman, on a wonderful hike through concepts that matter, culminating in the extraordinary peaks that surround the irresistible, beckoning claim of Fermat's Last Theorem."--Peter Galison, Harvard University

Dal risvolto di copertina interno

"All too often, abstract mathematics, one of the most beautiful of human intellectual creations, is ground into the dry dust of drills and proofs. Useful, yes; exciting, no. Avner Ash and Robert Gross have done something different--by focusing on the ideas that modern mathematicians actually care about. Fearless Symmetry is a book about detecting hidden patterns, about finding definitions that clarify, about the study of numbers that has entranced some of our great thinkers for thousands of years. It is a book that takes on number theory in a way that a nonmathematician can follow-systematically but without a barrage of technicalities. Ash and Gross are two terrific guides who take the reader, scientist or layman, on a wonderful hike through concepts that matter, culminating in the extraordinary peaks that surround the irresistible, beckoning claim of Fermat's Last Theorem."--Peter Galison, Harvard University

Dettagli dell?edizione

• Editore: Princeton Univ Pr
• Data di pubblicazione: 2006
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 0691124922
• ISBN 13: 9780691124926
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero di pagine: 272
• Contatto del produttore: non disponibile
• Persona responsabile: non disponibile