This book is for all lovers ofmathematics. It is an attempt to under stand the nature of mathematics from the point of view of its most important early source. Even if the material covered by Euclid may be considered ele mentary for the most part, the way in which he presents it has set the standard for more than two thousand years. Knowing Euclid's Elements may be ofthe same importance for a mathematician today as knowing Greek architecture is for an architect. Clearly, no con temporary architect will construct a Doric temple, let alone organize a construction site in the way the ancients did. But for the training ofan architect's aesthetic judgment, a knowledge ofthe Greek her itage is indispensable. I agree with Peter Hilton when he says that genuine mathematics constitutesone ofthe finest expressions ofthe human spirit, and I may add that here as in so many other instances, we have learned that language ofexpression from the Greeks. While presenting geometry and arithmetic Euclid teaches us es sential features of mathematics in a much more general sense. He displays the axiomatic foundation of a mathematical theory and its conscious development towards the solution of a specific problem. We see how abstraction works and enforces the strictly deductive presentation ofa theory. We learn what creative definitions are and v VI ----=P:. . :re:. ::::fa=ce how a conceptual grasp leads to toe classification ofthe relevant ob jects.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
B. Artmann
Euclid - The Creation of Mathematics
"The author invites the 'lover of mathematics' to have a peek, via a gentle introduction and presentation of Euclid's Elements, with detours to previous Greek geometers, whose work has been incorporated in the Elements. The contents of the Elements are presented book by book . . . with full statements of the definitions, axioms, propositions, and proofs involved. There are . . . notes to subsequent development of Euclidean themes . . . justifications of steps of proof and of the sequence in which results appear . . . An original and pleasing feature of the book consists in the references to Greek architecture, which emphasize the pervasiveness of the concern for proportion in Greek culture, as well as the references to archaeological finds of dodecahedra- and icosahedra-shaped objects."-AMERICAN MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY
Auflage
1st ed. 1999. Corr. 2nd printing 2001
Sprache
Verlagsort
Zielgruppe
Für höhere Schule und Studium
Für Beruf und Forschung
Professional/practitioner
Editions-Typ
Produkt-Hinweis
Fadenheftung
Gewebe-Einband
Illustrationen
Maße
Höhe: 241 mm
Breite: 161 mm
Dicke: 20 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-0-387-98423-0 (9780387984230)
DOI
10.1007/978-1-4612-1412-0
Schweitzer Klassifikation
1 General Historical Remarks.- 2 The Contents of the Elements.- 3 The Origin of Mathematics 1: The Testimony of Eudemus.- 4 Euclid Book I: Basic Geometry.- 5 The Origin of Mathematics 2: Parallels and Axioms.- 6 The Origin of Mathematics 3: Pythagoras of Samos.- 7 Euclid Book II: The Geometry of Rectangles.- 8 The Origin of Mathematics 4: Squaring the Circle.- 9 Euclid Book III: About the Circle.- 10 The Origin of Mathematics 5: Problems and Theories.- 11 Euclid Book IV: Regular Polygons.- 12 The Origin of Mathematics 6: The Birth of Rigor.- 13 The Origin of Mathematics 7: Polygons After Euclid.- 14 Euclid Book V: The General Theory of Proportions.- 15 Euclid Book VI:Similarity Geometry.- 16 The Origin of Mathematics 8: Be Wise, Generalize.- 17 Euclid Book VII: Basic Arithmetic.- 18 The Origin of Mathematics 9: Nicomachus and Diophantus.- 19 Euclid Book VIII: Numbers in Continued Proportion, the Geometry of Numbers.- 20 The Origin of Mathematics 10: Tools and Theorems.- 21 Euclid Book IX: Miscellaneous Topics from Arithmetic.- 22 The Origin of Mathematics 11: Math Is Beautiful.- 23 Euclid Book X: Incommensurable Magnitudes 23.1 Commensurability and Its Relation to Other Notions 227.- 24 The Origin of Mathematics 12: Incommensurability and Irrationality.- 25 Euclid Book XI: Solid Geometry.- 26 The Origin of Mathematics 13: The Role of Definitions.- 27 Euclid Book XII: Volume by Limits.- 28 The Origin of Mathematics 14: The Taming of the Infinite.- 29 Euclid Book XIII: Regular Polyhedra.- 30 The Origin of Mathematics 15: Symmetry Through the Ages.- 31 The Origin of Mathematics 16: The Origin of the Elements.- Notes.
