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Journey Through Genius: The Great Theorems of Mathematics
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Journey Through Genius: The Great Theorems of Mathematics Paperback - 1991

by William Dunham


Summary

Like masterpieces of art, music, and literature, great mathematical theorems are creative milestones, works of genius destined to last forever. Now William Dunham gives them the attention they deserve.

Dunham places each theorem within its historical context and explores the very human and often turbulent life of the creator — from Archimedes, the absentminded theoretician whose absorption in his work often precluded eating or bathing, to Gerolamo Cardano, the sixteenth-century mathematician whose accomplishments flourished despite a bizarre array of misadventures, to the paranoid genius of modern times, Georg Cantor. He also provides step-by-step proofs for the theorems, each easily accessible to readers with no more than a knowledge of high school mathematics.

A rare combination of the historical, biographical, and mathematical, Journey Through Genius is a fascinating introduction to a neglected field of human creativity.

From the publisher

Like masterpieces of art, music, and literature, great mathematical theorems are creative milestones, works of genius destined to last forever. Now William Dunham gives them the attention they deserve. Dunham places each theorem within its historical context and explores the very human and often turbulent life of the creator -- from Archimedes, the absentminded theoretician whose absorption in his work often precluded eating or bathing, to Gerolamo Cardano, the sixteenth-century mathematician whose accomplishments flourished despite a bizarre array of misadventures, to the paranoid genius of modern times, Georg Cantor. He also provides step-by-step proofs for the theorems, each easily accessible to readers with no more than a knowledge of high school mathematics. A rare combination of the historical, biographical, and mathematical, Journey Through Genius is a fascinating introduction to a neglected field of human creativity. "It is mathematics presented as a series of works of art; a fascinating lingering over individual examples of ingenuity and insight. It is mathematics by lightning flash." --Isaac Asimov

First line

"Our knowledge of the very early development of mathematics is largely speculative, pieced together from archaeological fragments, architectural remains, and educated guesses."

From the rear cover

A rare combination of the historical, biographical, and mathematicalgenius, this book is a fascinating introduction to a neglected field of human creativity. Dunham places mathematical theorem, along with masterpieces of art, music, and literature and gives them the attention they deserve.

Details

  • Title Journey Through Genius: The Great Theorems of Mathematics
  • Author William Dunham
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition [ Edition: Repri
  • Pages 320
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Penguin Books, New York
  • Date August 1, 1991
  • ISBN 9780140147391 / 014014739X
  • Weight 0.49 lbs (0.22 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.76 x 5.09 x 0.6 in (19.71 x 12.93 x 1.52 cm)
  • Ages 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Library of Congress subjects Mathematics - History, Mathematicians - Biography
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 00001636
  • Dewey Decimal Code 510.9

Media reviews

"An inspired piece of intellectual history."
Los Angeles Times

“It is mathematics presented as a series of works of art; a fascinating lingering over individual examples of ingenuity and insight. It is mathematics by lightning flash.”
— Isaac Asimov

“Dunham deftly guides the reader through the verbal and logical intricacies of major mathematical questions, conveying a splendid sense of how the greatest mathematicians from ancient to modern times presented their arguments.”
—Ivars Peterson, author of The Mathematical Tourist

About the author

William Dunham is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. After receiving his Ph.D. from the Ohio State University in 1974, he joined the mathematics faculty at Hanover College in Indiana. He has directed a summer seminar funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities on the topic of "The Great Theorems of Mathematics in Historical Context."
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